linksom

Linksom is a conceptual framework in information technology that describes a method for publishing and connecting widely distributed resources through verifiable links. The term is used in theoretical discussions of data integration and linked data interoperability.

Definition and structure: A linksom entry includes a content-derived identifier (similar to a content-addressable hash), a list of links to other entries, and optional metadata such as media type and provenance. Links are unidirectional or bidirectional and may include type information to indicate relationship semantics. The emphasis is on self-describing, verifiable resources.

Operation: A node publishes linksom records to a repository or directly to peers. A consumer discovers resources by resolving a starting record and following links; each referenced resource can be independently verified using its content-derived identifier. Because identifiers are derived from content, tampering becomes detectable.

Applications and variants: Interest exists in knowledge graphs, digital archives, and distributed data commons. Variants include linksom-lite for constrained environments and linksom-extended for media-rich resources, each balancing metadata richness against payload size.

Reception and status: Linksom remains a theoretical construct with limited widespread implementation, cited in discussions of federated information systems. Critics point to overhead of verification, governance of identifiers, and interoperability with existing standards such as RDF and JSON-LD.