[sldev] Open Grid Identifier Notation draft proposal

[Vex Streeter]

Cenji Neutra wrote:
>> Cenji Neutra wrote:
>> To my mind, the identifiers aren't resource locators (URLs).  A URN does
>> seem like a nice idea though (goes looking for the URI RFC...)
>>
>>     
> On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 3:29 PM, Vex Streeter <vexstreeter at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> XML namespaces ran into the same confusion, where the namespace identifiers
>> *typically* look like URLs but are often actually unresolvable because they
>> are "merely" namespace identifiers.  The RDDL idea is to make them actually
>> resolvable URLs, where the intent is that they resolve to a rddl document
>> that describes the domain that the namespace models. The nice thing about
>> this approach is that it allows for a completely distributed solution: once
>> you've got the identifier, you can find out everything else you need to know
>> to connect without  any sort of central registry.  The point to make here is
>> that even in the URL case, the identifier is still just a reference not the
>> grid it names.
>>
>>     
>
> Yes, that is a nice property.  The only problem with it is that it
> requires that everyone who controls the domains corresponding to the
> identifiers to implement the standard service.
Well, the implication is that the organization running grid X would both 
own the domain name X and IFF they want the grid to be publicly 
resolvable would put a grid description document at X.

For instance
case 1: public SL grid
id = "http://grid.secondlife.com/agni"
resolved contents of id:
    <grid>
       <name>Second Life</name>
       <login>https://login.agni.lindenlab.com/cgi-bin/login.cgi</login>
       <publickey>...</publickey>
       etc


case 2: my private grid
id="http://myprivatemetaverse.org/"
resolved contents of id:  HTTP 404 error


> Perhaps it is possible to have the advantages of both systems.
> Perhaps we can use URIs and specifications that layer above that can
> require that for lookup, applications first query an extended DNS
> name.  
Two recommendations:
- that there be no "search" required to resolve - it either resolves or 
it doesn't.  You might do it on initial discovery, but generally it is a 
way to advertise your grid in a more structured and useful way than a 
wiki page, definitely not in the critical path for client boot.
- if published, the grid information should be *static*, that is, as a 
design goal, it ought to define the specific grid in a pretty deep way 
so you don't need to retrieve it ever again.  Use dns to resolve major 
grid services, etc.  Most clients would ship with a set of grid 
references, e.g. something like Gareth Ellison's supergrid 
(http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Gareth_Ellison/Supergrid)

Cheers,
    Vex