IRI and Identifier Policy (Practical)

This page defines practical rules for identifiers across DSU standards and workflows.

Core rule

Use full canonical IRIs for semantic term links.

Canonical base: https://w3id.org/gcdfo/salmon#

What goes where

  • Human-facing name → label fields (rdfs:label, skos:prefLabel, or local label columns)
  • Machine code value → code fields (e.g., skos:notation, coded columns)
  • Stable term identifier → full IRI in semantic link columns (e.g., standard_term_iri)

Do / Don’t

Do

  • store full https://w3id.org/gcdfo/salmon#... IRIs in mapping metadata
  • preserve the exact IRI used at publication/submission time
  • document crosswalks when terms are replaced

Don’t

  • use partial/abbreviated IRIs in package metadata
  • put machine IDs into display labels
  • silently swap identifiers without change notes

Example mapping row

variable_name,label,standard_term_iri
Esc,Escapement,https://w3id.org/gcdfo/salmon#Escapement

Why this matters

Consistent full IRIs reduce ambiguity and make salmon data package validation, SPSR intake, and downstream integration more reliable.