SelfmyRef

SelfmyRef is a term used in discussions of data modeling and digital documents to refer to a self-referential identifier or pointer that points to the resource in which it appears. The concept is not tied to a specific standard and varies in implementation, but it generally serves to establish an explicit link from an entity to itself, aiding provenance, identity, or redundancy control.

In practice, a selfmyRef value can be encoded as a reserved field, a URI like urn:selfmyref:ID, or a structured object that contains a target field referencing the resource's own identifier. It is distinct from ordinary cross-references, because the reference is designed to resolve to the resource containing the field, rather than to a different resource.

Applications include data exchange formats, metadata records, and content management systems where self-description or self-reference supports traceability, versioning, and integrity checks. Potential drawbacks include added complexity, risk of circular dependencies, and ambiguity if the owning resource changes its identifier without updating the selfmyRef.

Related concepts include self-reference, reflexivity in mathematics and computer science, and circular references in data structures. The term selfmyRef is primarily used in theoretical discussions and hobbyist implementations, rather than as a standardized feature of major data formats.