org.osid.id

Interface Id

All Superinterfaces:

Id, OsidPrimitive, java.io.Serializable

public interface Id
extends OsidPrimitive, Id

Id represents an identifier object. Ids are designated by the following elements:

• identifier: a unique key or guid
• namespace: the namespace of the identifier
• authority: the issuer of the identifier

Two Ids are equal if their namespace, identifier and authority strings are equal. Only the identifier is case-sensitive. Persisting an Id means persisting the above components.

Method Summary

Methods

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
java.lang.String	getAuthority() Gets the authority of this Id.
java.lang.String	getIdentifier() Gets the identifier of this Id.
java.lang.String	getIdentifierNamespace() Gets the namespace of the identifier.

Methods inherited from interface org.osid.binding.java.Id

equals, hashCode

Methods inherited from interface org.osid.binding.java.OsidPrimitive

toString

Method Detail

getAuthority

java.lang.String getAuthority()

Gets the authority of this Id. The authority is a string used to ensure the uniqueness of this Id when using a non-federated identifier space. Generally, it is a service name identifying the provider of this Id. This method is used to compare one Id to another.

Returns:

the authority of this Id

Compliance:

mandatory - This method must be implemented.

getIdentifierNamespace

java.lang.String getIdentifierNamespace()

Gets the namespace of the identifier. The namespace reflects the domain in which the identifier is unique. When using a global identifier schema, the namespace may indicate the name of the scheme. When using a local identification scheme, the namespace may be more specific, such as the name of a database or file in which the identifiers exist. Federating adapters may use a custom namespace to include information for routing. This method is used to compare one Id to another.

Returns:

the authority of this Id

Compliance:

mandatory - This method must be implemented.

getIdentifier

java.lang.String getIdentifier()

Gets the identifier of this Id. This method is used to compare one Id to another.

Returns:

the identifier of this Id

Compliance:

mandatory - This method must be implemented.