# Re: Re Revised URN

Larry Masinter (masinter@parc.xerox.com)
Mon, 16 May 1994 19:38:08 PDT

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    To: terry@ora.com

    In-Reply-To: terry@ora.com's message of Sat, 14 May 1994 09:20:14 -0700 <94May14.092017pdt.2765@golden.parc.xerox.com>

    Subject: Re: Re Revised URN

    From: Larry Masinter <masinter@parc.xerox.com>

    Message-Id: <94May16.193815pdt.2760@golden.parc.xerox.com>

    Date: 	Mon, 16 May 1994 19:38:08 PDT

re 'a given resource may have only one URN':

When is the same the same?

I don't actually want to make a policy statement about whether 'one
resource can have two URNs'. It certainly is outside of the scope of
URN space for the same resource to have thousands of different URNs,
but it is, for the most part, impossible to prevent two different
naming authorities from assigning different URNs for 'the same'
resource.

Especially if they decide they're different.

Especially if meta-information is associated with a URN, and `the
same' resource might be considered different depending on the URN.

I'm willing to change it to remove 'uniquely' from 'uniquely namable
entity' if you think it will reduce confusion.

I'm less willing to remove 'unique' from '... function of a URN is to
provide a globally unique, persistent identifier', since 'unique'
modifies 'identifier' and not the resource.

(That's a rock. No, that's my pet rock.)

Re: recognition in free text:

I agree that this requirement is unattainable 100%. I'm willing to
change it to say:

> The encoding of a URN should enhance the ability to find and
> parse URNs in free text.

since I think that's really what is being desired here. Improve the
likelihood, by making them say <URN:....>. This is definitely part of
the ISBN requirements, for example: yah, a publisher could print a
book with ISBN all over it and things that look like ISBN numbers, but
it's easy to find the ISBN number on the cover anyway.

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