The following materials provide high-level, introductory discussion about DOI^® names; detailed coverage of policy, operations and technology; and a description of the components of the DOI^® System and its underlying technology.

A factsheet summarizing the key elements of the DOI System, including its components, operation, governance and technical infrastructure.

Overview of the DOI System slide presentation (PowerPoint Presentation). This presentation is available in an extended form as the Overview module of a multi-part workshop course on the DOI System.

Additional Illustrations: The Role of the DOI System as a Persistent Identifier (JPG); Multiple Resolution (JPG); and DOI Data Model: the Application Profile Framework (JPG).

The DOI^® System has been standardised through the International Standards Organisation, ISO (via ISO TC46/SC9). The Final Draft International Standard (ISO/DIS 26324, Information and Documentation — Digital Object Identifier System) was approved by 100% of those voting in a ballot closing on November 15, 2010. The approved ISO standard is now moving through the publication process; in parallel, the IDF will be modifying the DOI Handbook to reflect this standard and update parts of the Handbook which have been on hold during the ISO process (which began in 2006).

The ISO standard will complement, and be compatible with, the existing US National Standard ANSI/NISO Z39.84, Syntax for the Digital Object Identifier (2000, 2005, 2010), both in international acceptance and by expansion to cover a detailed extensible metadata schema and discussion of the guarantees provided re persistence, etc.

See also the DOI System overview article, which incorporates material from the draft standard.

DOI names may be expressed as URLs (URIs) through a proxy server (See the DOI Handbook, Chapter 3, Resolution). Please also see the Factsheet: DOI^® System and Internet Identifier Specifications.

The DOI System is an implementation of the Handle System. There are three Handle System RFCs:

DOI is a registered URI within the info-URI namespace (IETF RFC 4452, the "info" URI Scheme for Information Assets with Identifiers in Public Namespaces). Further information is available at http://info-uri.info.

DOI names use a semantic data dictionary and the IDF is the formal Registration Authority of the MPEG21 Rights Data dictionary. For further information on the RDD please send a request to contact@doi.org. For information on MPEG, see the MPEG website.

The DOI syntax is a NISO standard. See the DOI Handbook, Appendix 1, ANSI/NISO Z39.84-2000 Syntax for the Digital Object Identifier. The International DOI Foundation is a member of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO).

DOI names are an implementation of the CNRI Handle System^®, in which the term "DOI" is used instead of "handle" to describe the identifiers. For more information on the role of the Handle System in the DOI System, see the Factsheet "DOI System and Handle".

The Handle System web site includes an overview of the Handle System, definition of the namespace, and protocol specification which have been published as IETF Informational RFCs. Also of interest to the community is a discussion of Handle System scalability and an explanation of handle resolution. (See also the DOI^® Handbook, Chapter 3, Resolution.)

CNRI and ITU recently entered into an agreement to collaborate on use of the Handle System and the Digital Object Architecture (which Handle System is part of) more generally, and are working on the specific details of that collaboration. ITU has listed the Handle System as an "emerging trend": http://www.itu.int/osg/csd/emerging_trends/handle_system/index.html

DOI names use a semantic data dictionary, the indecs data dictionary, which is based on work including the original indecs project and its further development into the MPEG21 Rights Data dictionary. For more information on the role of the Data Dictionary in the DOI System, see the Factsheet "DOI System and data dictionaries".

View an IDF presentation on Persistent Identifier concepts and their development. (ZIP archive, PowerPoint presentation)