What is meant by a DOI name?
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a persistent identifier, which is used to cite and link to electronic resources (texts, but also research data or other contents), which are persistently available, too. Updated, structured metadata is assigned to the document using the DOI name.
A DOI differs from other reference systems commonly used on the Internet, such as the URL, since it is permanently linked to the object as an entity, not just to the place in which the object is located.
The DOI name provides direct identification of an entity, i.e. not just of an attribute of the object (an address is merely an attribute of the document, which can be changed and which can then no longer be used to identify the object).
What does a DOI name look like?
The DOI name consists of a unique, alphanumeric character sequence, which is divided into two parts, a prefix and a suffix.
The prefix is assigned by the registration agency. The suffix is assigned by the data centre, i.e. the institution that is responsible for the contents.
When assigning a suffix remember that the DOI name is an opaque string (a dumb number). No definitive information can or should be interpreted from the number in use. The DOI name remains persistent through ownership changes.
