identifiersfor

Identifiersfor is a term used in software development to denote a mechanism, typically a function or method, that retrieves identifiers associated with a given entity or resource. The concept is language-agnostic and appears in API design, data models, and library interfaces. The identifiers returned can be external or internal keys that uniquely reference the resource across systems, such as database IDs, canonical URLs, or standardized codes.

In practice, identifiersfor is implemented as a query or accessor that, given an object, yields a collection of identifier strings. The return type is commonly a list or set of strings, accommodating multiple identifier schemes (for example, ISBNs, DOIs, vendor SKUs, or internal GUIDs). Implementations should be deterministic, returning the same set for the same input unless the underlying data changes, and should handle entities with no identifiers gracefully, often returning an empty collection.

Common design considerations include the scope of identifiers to include (internal only vs. external references), privacy and permission checks, caching strategies to improve performance, and formatting or normalization of identifiers for consistent downstream use. When multiple identifiers exist, systems may prioritize them or provide metadata indicating the identifier type and source.

Examples of usage include retrieving identifiers for a bibliographic record, a product in an inventory system, or a user in a federated authentication context. The identifiersfor pattern helps decouple resource retrieval from representation, enabling interoperable linking and integration across disparate data sources. See also identifiers, identifier schemes, and API design patterns for related concepts.