Refersto

Refersto is a label used in information systems to express a directional referential relationship between two resources. In its simplest form, A refersto B means that A includes or points to B as a reference. The concept is common in data modeling, bibliographic metadata, and linked data, where establishing precise referential links supports navigation, provenance, and integration across datasets.

Implementation varies by domain. In RDF and related semantic-web contexts, a property named refersto may be introduced to model the relation, with the subject being the referencing resource and the object the target resource. Some schemas opt for more established terms such as references, cites, or points-to; refersto is often used as a neutral, self-descriptive label in custom ontologies or internal schemas. In non-semantic formats such as JSON, an object may contain a refersto field containing a URI or identifier of the referred resource.

Usage examples include a scholarly paper refersto another paper in its bibliography, a software issue refersto a related issue or bug, or a document refersto an appendix or external standard. The relation is inherently directional: the existence of A refersto B does not automatically imply the reverse.

Design considerations include directionality, scope, and update mechanics: how to handle broken references, versioning, and provenance. If used in public data, it is important to use stable identifiers and to document the exact meaning of refersto for consumers. Related concepts include references, citations, cross-references, and referential integrity.