ddí

ddí is a modular framework for describing digital objects and their provenance in open data repositories. The acronym ddí stands for digital data interconnection. It provides a unified approach to metadata that can describe content, context, and lineage, enabling discovery, reuse, and governance across systems.

Origin and scope

ddí emerged in the early 2020s as an effort to unify disparate metadata schemas used by libraries, archives, and data centers. It was developed by an international consortium of data curators, software developers, and information professionals who sought a technology-neutral and extensible standard. The framework is designed to accommodate a wide range of domains, from research data to cultural heritage objects, through configurable profiles.

Architecture and features

The core model of ddí includes entities such as Object, Agent, Event, and Provenance, with relationships that express creation, modification, custody, and historical context. It supports multiple serialization formats, notably JSON-LD, RDF, and YAML, and can be extended via profile definitions to cover specialized needs. Provenance information is aligned with established practices and standards, including considerations for licensing, rights metadata, and access policies. Interoperability is aided by the use of persistent identifiers and mapping rules to other schemas, such as Dublin Core and schema.org, facilitating cross-system discovery.

Applications and reception

ddí is used by archives, libraries, museums, and research data repositories to improve data governance, reproducibility, and interoperability across platforms. Adoption has highlighted benefits in metadata consistency and discovery, while critics point to the complexity of implementing profiles and governance overhead. Ongoing development focuses on tooling for validation, profile creation, and automated metadata generation.