Editing Digital object identifier (section)

==Features and benefits==
The IDF designed the DOI system to provide a form of [[persistent identifier|persistent identification]], in which each DOI name permanently and unambiguously identifies the object to which it is associated (although when the publisher of a journal changes, sometimes all the DOIs will be changed, with the old DOIs no longer working). It also associates [[metadata]] with objects, allowing it to provide users with relevant pieces of information about the objects and their relationships. Included as part of this metadata are network actions that allow DOI names to be resolved to web locations where the objects they describe can be found. To achieve its goals, the DOI system combines the [[Handle System]] and the [[indecs Content Model]] with a social infrastructure.

The Handle System ensures that the DOI name for an object is not based on any changeable attributes of the object such as its physical location or ownership, that the attributes of the object are encoded in its metadata rather than in its DOI name, and that no two objects are assigned the same DOI name. Because DOI names are short character strings, they are human-readable, may be copied and pasted as text, and fit into the [[Uniform Resource Identifier|URI]] specification. The DOI name-resolution mechanism acts behind the scenes, so that users communicate with it in the same way as with any other web service; it is built on [[open architecture]]s, incorporates [[computational trust|trust mechanisms]], and is engineered to operate reliably and flexibly so that it can be adapted to changing demands and new applications of the DOI system.<ref>{{cite web |title=DOIs and their discontents |last=Timmer |first=John |date=6 March 2010 |work=[[Ars Technica]] |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2010/03/dois-and-their-discontents-1/ |access-date=5 March 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308140654/http://arstechnica.com/science/2010/03/dois-and-their-discontents-1/ |archive-date=8 March 2013}}</ref> DOI name-resolution may be used with [[OpenURL]] to select the most appropriate among multiple locations for a given object, according to the location of the user making the request.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=DeRisi |first1=Susanne |last2=Kennison |first2=Rebecca |last3=Twyman |first3=Nick |name-list-style=and |title=Editorial: The what and whys of DOIs |date=2003 |journal=[[PLoS Biology]] |volume=1 |issue=2 |page=e57 |pmid=14624257 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0000057 |doi-access=free |pmc=261894}} {{open access}}</ref> However, despite this ability, the DOI system has drawn criticism from librarians for directing users to non-free copies of documents, that would have been available for no additional fee from alternative locations.<ref>{{cite book |contribution=Open access to scientific and technical information: the state of the art |first=Jack |last=Franklin |title=Open access to scientific and technical information: state of the art and future trends |editor1-first=Herbert |editor1-last=Grüttemeier |editor2-first=Barry |editor2-last=Mahon |publisher=IOS Press |date=2003 |page=74 |isbn=978-1-58603-377-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2X3gW1lUvN4C&pg=PA74 |access-date=7 August 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807090158/https://books.google.com/books?id=2X3gW1lUvN4C&pg=PA74 |archive-date=7 August 2022}}</ref>

The [[indecs Content Model]] as used within the DOI system associates metadata with objects. A small kernel of common metadata is shared by all DOI names and can be optionally extended with other relevant data, which may be public or restricted. Registrants may update the metadata for their DOI names at any time, such as when publication information changes or when an object moves to a different URL.

The International DOI Foundation (IDF) oversees the integration of these technologies and operation of the system through a technical and social infrastructure. The social infrastructure of a federation of independent registration agencies offering DOI services was modelled on existing successful federated deployments of identifiers such as [[GS1]] and [[ISBN]].