How does a DOI name compare to other common identifier strings for intellectual property like ISBN etc?
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN), in use by the book publishing industry for many years, is an example of a string of numbers that uniquely labels something. A DOI name Internet-enables such a string (Internet enabling in this context means resolution and then linkage to metadata). In effect the DOI System tackles two problems at once: (1) providing a label string if things don’t have a common system right now; and (2) providing internet resolution for any label string at all. Although a DOI name is usually considered to be “An identifier (not a location) on digital networks for an entity”, it in full is “a system for persistent and actionable identification and interoperable exchange of managed information on digital networks”.
