|
|
|
|
|
|
The Handle System is a general-purpose distributed information system
that provides efficient, extensible, and secure identifier and
resolution services for use on networks such as the Internet.
The Handle System includes an open protocol, a namespace, and a reference
implementation of the protocol, making it infrastructure, not end-user or off-the-shelf software.
The Handle System protocols enable a
distributed computer system to resolve and store the identification
information (or handles) of digital resources into the elements needed
to locate, access, and otherwise manage names for Internet resources (e.g.,
online documents, websites and pages and other digital objects).
The Handle System was developed by
Dr. Robert Kahn
and his team at the
Corporation for National Research
Initiatives® (CNRI) in Reston, Virginia. Dr. Kahn is a
co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocols and was responsible for originating
DARPA's Internet Program.
|
|
|
Features
-
Native Support for Multilingual Domain Names
Uses Unicode (UTF-8) so all languages can be included.
-
Enhanced Security
Has built-in
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
-
Easy and distributed administration system
The assignment and management of identifier names could be decentralized - technically, operationally and in policy making- to promote more options and therefore innovation.
-
Support for object Persistence
Allows one to retain the object address regardless of the physical location of the host/domain.
-
Smart search
Next generation Web 2.0 User-defined Metadata based search
-
Interoperable with the current Internet infrastructure, Transparent to the user
All the above features (distributed management, better security, multilingualization, smarter search, object persistence) can be supported by the Handle
protocol architecture with full interoperability with the current
Internet infrastructure. The choice of underlying architecture being used would be transparent to the user.
|
|
|
Current Deployments
The Handle System provides infrastructure
for several domains, including digital libraries & publishing, network and
identity management. Current Users include:
-
International DOI
Foundation, which includes the CrossRef (scholarly journal
consortium), the Office of Publications of the European Community,
MEDRA (Multilingual European DOI Registration Agency), Nielsen
BookData, R.R. Bowker et al and the German National Library of
Science and Technology.
-
Defense Virtual
Information Architecture (Defense Technical Information Center DARPA,
CNRI: context sensitive distribution of data and metadata).
-
GRID computing (Handle
System - Globus Toolkit Integration Project).
-
DSpace - MIT
Libraries/Hewlett-Packard (Digital Repository System).
-
National Digital
Library Program (NDLP).
-
Los Alamos National
Laboratory.
There are currently over 4,500 namespaces
that have been assigned to users and an estimated several hundred
million individual “handles” (identifiers within each namespace).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Handle System Related Applications & projects
(Try it)
|
|
