With the Handle System, a Handle is resolved to a set of elements called the Handle Record (the DOI record in case of a DOI name). An element is a typed data. Predefined types exist in the Handle System and new types can be added at any time (the process for adding new types is under development). For example, a DOI name could resolve to a Java servlet, or other dynamic mechanism.
An element inside a DOI record may be:
•a link to a resource: web address, IP address, etc.
•metadata: description, type, terms & conditions, ownership, etc. of the entity represented by the DOI name
•security information: public key, digital signature, etc.
•administration information: administrator of the DOI record with permissions
•state information: entity status, etc.
The following figure shows a DOI record example.
An element consists of:
•an index: unique element identifier inside the DOI record
•a global and registered type (for example, URL, description, IP address, email address, etc.)
•a value (data)
•a permission level: specifies if the value is publicly available or not and if it can be changed by an authorized administrator
•a timestamp
•a Time To Live (TTL): specifies how long the element value can be cached before the information source should again be consulted
NOTE An element inside a Handle Record can point to one or several Handles or to one or several elements in the same or in another Handle Record.