resolveArticle

resolveArticle is a term used in digital knowledge bases and wiki systems to describe the process or service that maps a user-supplied reference to the canonical article record within a repository. It accepts a variety of input forms, including a page title, a full or partial URL, an internal identifier, or a natural language query, and returns a specific article entry along with metadata such as the revision, location, and any redirects followed.

The primary purpose is to ensure stable linking and accurate rendering by resolving aliases, redirects, disambiguation pages, and versioned content to a single, current target. The resolver typically applies normalization steps, such as trimming whitespace, case folding, and Unicode normalization, then consults an index of article routes, alias mappings, and redirection rules. If multiple candidates exist, it may present a disambiguation result or use contextual clues to select the most likely target, potentially requiring user confirmation.

Versioning is often integrated, allowing a request to resolve to the latest stable revision or to a specific historical version. Some implementations support resolving to redirected targets in a chain, with safeguards against loops and infinite redirects.

Common use cases include link checking and maintenance, programmatic linking of external content, API endpoints that fetch article records, and the import or export of articles where canonical identity must be preserved. Implementations may operate as a standalone service, a database feature, or a middleware layer, and commonly employ caching, provenance data, and access controls.

Limitations include ambiguity in titles, rapidly changing aliases, and the possibility of circular redirects. Robust resolveArticle designs document rules for disambiguation, error handling, and fallback behavior.