> 
> Here's the rub -- no amount of indirection or abstraction can alter the fact
> that *people* ultimately say where things are. Purls, handles, and all other
> resolution services must be told where the item actually is in order to
> work.

Yep. Couldn't agree more.  But, see below:

> 
> It's much easier to just embed a unique identifier. As a practical matter it
> doesn't matter much how this is done (though there is some utility in having
> a predictable URL friendly syntax). The item can move anywhere, access
> becomes less dependent on specific technologies, and so long as an indexing
> engine that your discovery interface can connect to has access to the item
> or metadata, you're set.

can you give a practical example? I can see embedding an id somewhere in a digital file, and then creating a link to it as part of the indexing process, but what about external content that we have no control over... yet are expected to reference in a consistent way?

...adam

 
  
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