URLien

URLien is a hypothetical data model for encoding metadata about web URLs and their interrelationships. It is presented here as an illustrative framework to explore how URL metadata might be structured for automated validation, provenance, and navigational reasoning. It is not an established standard.

The core concept is a resource record identified by a URI. Each record may carry a metadata block (for example: content type, encoding, language, last-modified, expires) and provenance information (source, timestamp, agent). A relationships block captures directed edges to other URL records, with relation types such as next, previous, related, parent, or child. The model supports graph representations to express sequences, derivations, or trust relations among resources.

Formats and interoperability: URLien records are described in a JSON-like schema, and may be serialized to JSON-LD or RDF-compatible formats to integrate with existing web standards. The approach emphasizes lightweight extensibility and clear validation rules for schema conformance and edge consistency.

Use cases include web archiving, link integrity monitoring, content provenance tracking, SEO and indexing workflows, and educational tools that demonstrate URL graph concepts. URLien remains a theoretical construct used in discussions about metadata governance and linked data.

Related topics include Uniform Resource Locator, URI, JSON-LD, RDF, and Linked Data.