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The Handle System is a technology specification for assigning, managing, and resolving persistent identifiers for digital objects and other resources on the Internet. The protocols specified enable a distributed computer system to store identifiers (names, or handles), of digital resources and resolve those handles into the information necessary to locate, access, and otherwise make use of the resources. That information can be changed as needed to reflect the current state and/or location of the identified resource without changing the handle. The Handle System was developed by Bob Kahn, co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocols that underlie the operation of the Internet, with support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI), which continues to develop and manage it. (Excerpt from Wikipedia article: Handle system)

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Confidence, and the business of persistent identification

The persistent identification of resources is a foundational element of the JISC Information Environment. There are several schemes and technologies available to support this, with one of the most prominently used in the JISC IE being the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Built on the Handle technology, the DOI, under the stewardship of the not-for-profit International DOI Foundation (IDF), adds the important element of collective commitment and management, based on straightforward business interests.

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