Skip to content

introduction.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
21 lines (15 loc) · 2.91 KB

introduction.md

File metadata and controls

21 lines (15 loc) · 2.91 KB

Introduction

The Dataspace Protocol is used in the context of [=Dataspaces=] as described and defined in the subsequent sections with the purpose to support interoperability. In this context, the specification provides fundamental technical interoperability for [=Participants=] in [=Dataspaces=].

This specification builds on protocols located in the ISO OSI model (ISO/IEC 7498-1:1994) layers, like the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The purpose of this specification is to define interactions between systems independent of such protocols, but describing how to implement it in an unambiguous and extensible way. To do so, the [=Messages=] that are exchanged during the process are described in this specification and the states and their transitions are specified as state machines, based on the key terms and concepts of a [=Dataspace=]. On this foundation the bindings to [=Data Transfer Protocols=] are described using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Additional bindings based on other transport layers can be implemented, however for interroperability, a [=Connector=] must implement HTTPS bindings.

Note: This specification does not cover the data transfer as such. While this is controlled by the [=Transfer Process Protocol=], e.g., the initiation of the transfer channels or their decomissioning, the data transfer itself and especially the handling of technical exceptions is an obligation to the transport protocol.

The classes and definitions used in this specification are reused from different standards and specifications as much as possible, in particular, Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) [[?vocab-dcat-3]] and Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) [[?odrl-model]]. As, however, the external definitions allow different interpretations or provide more attributes than required, this specification is leveraging [=Profiles=] of the original definitions rather than the complete original expressiveness. However, not every standard-compliant class might be compliant to the [=Dataspace=] [=Profile=]. They are not separate artifacts but implicitly contained in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) schemas for the [=Message Types=] of this specification.

This specification is organized into the following documents:

  • [[[#terminology]]] documents define key terms.
  • [[[#requirements]]] declares cross-cutting functions as, e.g., the declaration of supported versions of this protocol and common data processing rules.
  • [[[#catalog-protocol]]] and [[[#catalog-http]]] define how [=Catalogs=] are published and accessed as HTTPS endpoints respectively.
  • [[[#negotiation-protocol]]] and [[[#negotiation-http]]] documents that define how [=Contract Negotiations=] are conducted and requested via HTTPS endpoints.
  • [[[#transfer-protocol]]] and [[[#transfer-http]]] documents that define how [=Transfer Processes=] using a given [=Data Transfer Protocol=] are governed via HTTPS endpoints.