resourceIsPublic

ResourceisPublic is a convention used in software design to indicate that a resource can be accessed publicly, without requiring authentication or special authorization. It is typically implemented as a boolean property on a resource object or as a function that derives visibility from metadata or policy rules. The designation helps developers and systems determine when to bypass authentication checks or apply different routing rules.

In APIs and web applications, marking a resource as public signals that any client can retrieve it, subject to other protections such as rate limits or content restrictions. Public visibility is often paired with access control layers that still enforce non-auth constraints like CORS, logging, or auditing. Conversely, non-public resources require valid credentials and appropriate permissions.

Implementation examples: In JavaScript, a resource might expose a public flag and a helper: const isPublic = resource => !!resource.public; if (isPublic(resource)) { serve(resource); } else { requireAuth(); } In Python: def is_public(resource): return getattr(resource, 'public', False).

Naming and style: resourceIsPublic is commonly written in camelCase; alternative names include isPublic or publicResource. Consistency within a project improves readability and reduces misinterpretation of security boundaries.

Security considerations: mislabeling a resource as public can expose sensitive data or bypass intended protections. Teams should align the public designation with the actual access policy, document it, and review changes during API versioning and deployment. Caching layers and CDNs should also be configured with awareness of public versus private resources.