Re: [Ref-Links] linkbaton and DOI

[herbert van de sompel <herbert.vandesompel@rug.ac.be>]

Hi all,

Eric Hellman's recent announcement of LinkBaton on this list refers to
SFX.

To those who are new to reference linking and to this list, I want to
clarify that SFX provides a dynamic solution for interconnecting
ditributed publishing. SFX is a system for selective resolution which
will direct a user to an appropriate copy of an article requested from a
reference (citation in journal article, record in abstracting and
indexing database, record in online library catalogue, ...), and goes
further than this in that it can direct a user to a range of services
that are appropriate to him. Services that have been demonstrated to
date include links into abstracting and indexing databases, citation
databases, online library catalogues, Internet Bookshops, Genome
database, e-print archives, ...

I also would like to clarify that SFX not only presents a solution for
the provision of links on the library side for a given identifier.  This
is indeed taken care of by part of the SFX solution, called the SFX
SERVICE COMPONENT.  But SFX also provides a mechanism to ship the
identifiers from the "publisher" to the "library".  The part of SFX
responsible for doing this is called the SFX REDIRECTION COMPONENT.  I
have described the possibility to ship - amongst others - DOIs using the
SFX shipping mechanism in detail in
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october99/van_de_sompel/10van_de_sompel.html .

To ensure there is no misunderstanding regarding SFX and LinkBaton, I
want to point out that:
* the LinkBaton REDIRECTION COMPONENT (shipping mechanism) is a
rendering of the SFX REDIRECTION COMPONENT presented under another name
and using another syntax.  
* The LinkBaton SERVICE COMPONENT does not build on the technology used
by the SFX SERVICE COMPONENT.  

In order for a shipping mechanism to be widely accepted by the
information industry, its syntax will have to be "standardized".  Eric
Hellman and I have recently been in touch about this.  

I look forward to bringing you further news about SFX as new
implementations get underway.

herbert van de sompel

------------------------------------------------------
Ref-Links maillist  -  Ref-Links@doi.org
http://www.doi.org/mailman/listinfo/ref-links