Overview of content related to 'persistent identifier'

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An identifier is any label that allows us to find a resource. One of the best-known identifiers is the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), a unique ten-digit number assigned to books and other publications. On the Internet the most widely known identifier is the Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which allows users to find a resource by listing a protocol, domain name and, in many cases, file location. A persistent identifier is, as the name suggests, an identifier that exists for a very long time. It should at the very least be globally unique and be used as a reference to the resource beyond the resource's lifetime. URLs, although useful, are not very persistent. They only provide a link to the resource's location at the moment in time they are cited, if the resource moves they no longer apply. The issue of 'linkrot' on the Internet (broken links to resources), along with the need for further interoperability has led to the search for more persistent identifiers for digital resources. (Excerpt from this source)