Object identifier
Encyclopedia
In computing
, an object identifier or OID is an identifier
used to name an object
(compare URN
). Structurally, an OID consists of a node in a hierarchically-assigned namespace
, formally defined using the ITU-T
's ASN.1
standard. Successive numbers of the nodes, starting at the root of the tree, identify each node in the tree. Designers set up new nodes by registering them under the node's registration authority. The root of the tree contains the following three arcs:
allocated by IANA
under the 1.3.6.1.4.1 (iso.org.dod.internet.private.enterprise) arc.
Another increasingly used form of OID is in the area of health care and public health informatics in the United States
. Health Level Seven (HL7), a standards-developing organization in the area of electronic health care data exchange, is an assigning authority at the 2.16.840.1.113883 (joint-iso-itu-t.country.us.organization.hl7) node. HL7 maintains its own OID registry, and as of January 1, 2008 it contained almost 3,000 nodes, most of them under the HL7 root. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has also adopted OIDs to manage the many complex values sets or "vocabularies" used in public health. The various OIDs are available in the Public Health Information Network (PHIN) Vocabulary Access and Distribution System (VADS).
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, an object identifier or OID is an identifier
Identifier
An identifier is a name that identifies either a unique object or a unique class of objects, where the "object" or class may be an idea, physical [countable] object , or physical [noncountable] substance...
used to name an object
Object (computer science)
In computer science, an object is any entity that can be manipulated by the commands of a programming language, such as a value, variable, function, or data structure...
(compare URN
Uniform Resource Name
A uniform resource name is a uniform resource identifier that uses the urn scheme and does not imply availability of the identified resource. Both URNs and URLs are URIs, and a particular URI may be a name and a locator at the same time.The functional requirements for uniform resource names are...
). Structurally, an OID consists of a node in a hierarchically-assigned namespace
Namespace (computer science)
A namespace is an abstract container or environment created to hold a logical grouping of unique identifiers or symbols . An identifier defined in a namespace is associated only with that namespace. The same identifier can be independently defined in multiple namespaces...
, formally defined using the ITU-T
ITU-T
The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector is one of the three sectors of the International Telecommunication Union ; it coordinates standards for telecommunications....
's ASN.1
Abstract Syntax Notation One
Data generated at various sources of observation need to be transmitted to one or more locations that process it to generate useful results. For example, voluminous signal data collected by a radio telescope from outer space. The system recording the data and the system processing it later may be...
standard. Successive numbers of the nodes, starting at the root of the tree, identify each node in the tree. Designers set up new nodes by registering them under the node's registration authority. The root of the tree contains the following three arcs:
- 0: ITU-TITU-TThe ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector is one of the three sectors of the International Telecommunication Union ; it coordinates standards for telecommunications....
- 1: ISO
- 2: joint-iso-itu-t
Usage
- In computer securityComputer securityComputer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
, OIDs serve to name almost every object type in X.509X.509In cryptography, X.509 is an ITU-T standard for a public key infrastructure and Privilege Management Infrastructure . X.509 specifies, amongst other things, standard formats for public key certificates, certificate revocation lists, attribute certificates, and a certification path validation...
certificatesPublic key certificateIn cryptography, a public key certificate is an electronic document which uses a digital signature to bind a public key with an identity — information such as the name of a person or an organization, their address, and so forth...
, such as components of Distinguished Names, CPSs, etc. - Within X.500X.500X.500 is a series of computer networking standards covering electronic directory services. The X.500 series was developed by ITU-T, formerly known as CCITT, and first approved in 1988. The directory services were developed in order to support the requirements of X.400 electronic mail exchange and...
directory schemas and protocols, to uniquely name each attribute type and object class, and other elements of schema. - Within LDAPLightweight Directory Access ProtocolThe Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol network...
schemasLogical schemaA Logical Schema is a data model of a specific problem domain expressed in terms of a particular data management technology. Without being specific to a particular database management product, it is in terms of either relational tables and columns, object-oriented classes, or XML tags...
, each object class and each attribute type has a unique OID - In computer networking, an OID, in the context of the Simple Network Management ProtocolSimple Network Management ProtocolSimple Network Management Protocol is an "Internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks. Devices that typically support SNMP include routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, modem racks, and more." It is used mostly in network management systems to monitor...
(SNMP), consists of the object identifier for an object in a Management Information BaseManagement information baseA management information base is a virtual database used for managing the entities in a communications network. Most often associated with the Simple Network Management Protocol , the term is also used more generically in contexts such as in OSI/ISO Network management model...
(MIB). - HL7, DICOM and other health care related information interchange standards use OIDs for globally unique identifiers for both individual information objects as well as References to code systems and data element dictionaries. DICOM uses the term UID (Unique IDentifier) in place of OID.
- The IANA OID registry contains a list of registered entities that use OIDs to reference internal structures (e.g. directory attributes). Each entity is assigned an initial referential value (e.g. 1.3.6.1.4.1.5518 for TDS Telecom Inc.) and thereafter the internal numbering plan is up to the entity to define (e.g. 1.3.6.1.4.1.5518.1.5.47 might refer to the "CCID" attribute of the LDAP directory associated with customers). This allows for precise referencing of data attributes in a company or other entity.
Examples
The most common OIDs seen "in the wild" usually belong to the private enterprise numbersEnterprise numbers
Private Enterprise Numbers are created and maintained by the Internet Assigned Number Authority in a public registry, including a publicly revealed email address and "contact name'. Any private enterprise may request, at no cost, a Private Enterprise Number to be assigned...
allocated by IANA
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
under the 1.3.6.1.4.1 (iso.org.dod.internet.private.enterprise) arc.
Another increasingly used form of OID is in the area of health care and public health informatics in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Health Level Seven (HL7), a standards-developing organization in the area of electronic health care data exchange, is an assigning authority at the 2.16.840.1.113883 (joint-iso-itu-t.country.us.organization.hl7) node. HL7 maintains its own OID registry, and as of January 1, 2008 it contained almost 3,000 nodes, most of them under the HL7 root. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
has also adopted OIDs to manage the many complex values sets or "vocabularies" used in public health. The various OIDs are available in the Public Health Information Network (PHIN) Vocabulary Access and Distribution System (VADS).
See also
- Digital object identifierDigital object identifierA digital object identifier is a character string used to uniquely identify an object such as an electronic document. Metadata about the object is stored in association with the DOI name and this metadata may include a location, such as a URL, where the object can be found...
- LSIDLSIDLife Science Identifiers are a way to name and locate pieces of information on the web. Essentially, an LSID is a unique identifier for some data, and the LSID protocol specifies a standard way to locate the data...
- International Geo Sample NumberInternational Geo Sample NumberThe International Geo Sample Number or IGSN is a 9 character sample identification code generated by the System for Earth Sample Registration . The IGSN preserves the identity of a sample even as it is moved from lab to lab and as data appear in different publications, thus eliminating ambiguity...
- Surrogate keySurrogate keyA surrogate key in a database is a unique identifier for either an entity in the modeled world or an object in the database. The surrogate key is not derived from application data.- Definition :There are at least two definitions of a surrogate:...
- Extended Validation Certificate
- Universally Unique IdentifierUniversally Unique IdentifierA universally unique identifier is an identifier standard used in software construction, standardized by the Open Software Foundation as part of the Distributed Computing Environment ....
- Globally Unique IdentifierGlobally Unique IdentifierA globally unique identifier is a unique reference number used as an identifier in computer software. The term GUID also is used for Microsoft's implementation of the Universally unique identifier standard....
- Uniform Resource NameUniform Resource NameA uniform resource name is a uniform resource identifier that uses the urn scheme and does not imply availability of the identified resource. Both URNs and URLs are URIs, and a particular URI may be a name and a locator at the same time.The functional requirements for uniform resource names are...
- Persistent Object IdentifierPersistent Object IdentifierIn database design, a Persistent Object Identifier is a unique identifier of a record on a table, used as the primary key. Important characteristics of a POID are that it does not carry business information and are not generally exported or otherwise made visible to data users; as such a POID has...
- In computer programmingComputer programmingComputer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
, an object identifier generally takes the form of an implementation-specific integerIntegerThe integers are formed by the natural numbers together with the negatives of the non-zero natural numbers .They are known as Positive and Negative Integers respectively...
or pointer that uniquely identifies an objectObject (computer science)In computer science, an object is any entity that can be manipulated by the commands of a programming language, such as a value, variable, function, or data structure...
. However, OIDs are a specific approach to creating globally unique object identifiers in a distributed system. - OBJREFOBJREFOBJREF is the name of the structure of marshalled interfaces in COM and DCOM. Because COM interfaces can only be called directly from the context where they originated, when they are needed in another context they are marshalled in this structure, which is then passed to the destination context...
s have an object identifier (OID) field.