Closed hvdsomp closed 1 year ago
While I am personally not really convinced about the need for a link to support discovery of the API Catalog from an individual object managed by a repository (i.e. link from its landing page), I do not think that a special-purpose link relation type needs to be introduced if one wants such link. The api-catalog
link type can be used. The question is whether the API Catalog spec needs to advocate for it. Ideas?
For machines it is sometimes not trivial to find the way from a 'collection' aka landing page back to the responsible repository. Often this is indicated in enclosed or (signposting) linked metadata e.g. via dc:publisher but also very often not using an URI.
For scientific search engines and catalogs having such a link relation could be a great way to easily extend their indexes using signposting to find more content in case e.g. datasets of a distinct repository are frequently linked via e.g. dc.relation or so.
I agree that api-catalog via landing page can also be used to do this and honestly for me this would be the preferred solution.
Maybe you can mention in the specs that api-catalogs COULD be linked via landing pages? If not I would vote for a repository link there..
We can’t just make up a repository link relation type. I checked the IESG registry and none of the registered link relation types apply. But, again, I don’t see why api-catalog wouldn’t do the trick especially since we already advise using it at the baseURL. So, yes, language could be added to advise using it at the landing page level.
OK so the docs simply could mention the possibility to use the api-catalog also at landing-page level? This would be good in case landing page baseURLs are differing from repository baseURL so machines would find their way back from landing pages to the repository.
Added language re api-catalog link from landing pages:
Moreover, repositories should consider to also provide an api-catalog
link with the same characteristics, pointing from landing pages of objects managed by the repository to the API Catalog Link Set. This is especially helpful when determining the repository's baseURL from landing page URLs is not trivial.
To make it crystal clear where to find the api-catalog, it would also be good to have a 'repository' link relation type which can be placed at each landing page ('collection') This would allow to consistently use signposting to find my way back to a repository (and from there to further services) even if my journey started at a landing page which I found via a search engine.
Originally posted by @huberrob in https://github.com/hvdsomp/signposting/issues/21#issuecomment-1820647138