FORMATS / IDENTIFIERS / METHODS
Documentary reference library
Find an identifier, unit, HTTP status or data convention, then open the method explaining its use and limits.
193 references · page 3 of 9
| Object to check | Code or notation | Context and use |
|---|---|---|
| Zenodo: three different dates in a real record | DOI · Published · Created · Modified · Resource type · MD5 | The poster DOI Versioning Done Right by Krzysztof Nowak, Alexandros Ioannidis, Chiara Bigarella and Lars Holm Nielsen provides a verifiable case. These values were read on the public page on 22 October 2026. The timeline orders events without a proportional duration scale. |
| VIES: results also depend on national scope | VIES · valid · invalid · Data not available · XI · GB | VIES queries national VAT databases; it is not a standalone European register of all businesses. These references qualify the returned response without turning it into a conclusion about a partner’s existence or quality. |
| ORIAS: decode eight intermediary categories | COA · AGA · MA / MAL · MIA · COBSP · MOBSPL · MOBSP · MIOBSP | These abbreviations appear in ORIAS’s 2025 report. IAS covers insurance intermediation; IOBSP covers banking transactions and payment services. The table explains categories without assigning status to a particular professional. |
| ORIAS 2025: 72,666 intermediaries, 123,083 registrations | 2025-12-31 · Σ · IAS · IOBSP · CIF / ALPSI / IFP · 123083 / 72666 | The 2025 annual report and ORIAS page describe 31 December 2025, consulted on 22 October 2026. These are not live headcounts. The chart compares registrations by domain only; the table distinguishes counting units. |
| Sirene: separate current APE codes from future NAF 2025 codes | NAF 2025 · activitePrincipaleUniteLegale · activitePrincipaleEtablissement · nomenclatureActivitePrincipaleUniteLegale · nomenclatureActivitePrincipaleEtablissement · activitePrincipaleNAF25UniteLegale · activitePrincipaleNAF25Etablissement | As of 22 October 2026, Insee announces new APE codes for 1 January 2027. Early availability does not make NAF 2025 already applicable to the current code. Identify fields before matching extracts from different periods. |
| RNA: distinguish seven fields before building a timeline | id · id_ex · date_creat · date_decla · date_publi · date_disso · maj_time | The PDF dictionary published in December 2018 is still linked by the RNA catalogue consulted on 22 October 2026. It describes RNA_waldec among other extracts. These definitions belong to that document; also check the actual extract header and version. |
| BODACC: choose the edition before interpreting results | BODACC A · BODACC B · BODACC C · Rectificatif | Editions A, B and C group different announcement types. DILA’s official catalogue and the BODACC search distinguish categories. Define scope before turning results into company events. |
| ETag: compare a representation without inventing a checksum | ETag · W/ · If-None-Match · If-Match · Last-Modified · 304 | An HTTP validator compares representations in a resource context. The xyzzy values below come from RFC 9110 examples; they are not observations of this website and do not identify a hashing algorithm. |
| HTTP redirects: status can also affect the method | 301 / 302 · 303 · 307 · 308 · Location · Content-Location | RFC 9110 separates a redirect’s stated duration from method handling when following it. An identical final destination does not establish that two clients followed the same path. |
| Memento: separate the requested date from the state returned | Accept-Datetime · Memento-Datetime · rel="original" · rel="timegate" · rel="timemap" · Vary | Informational RFC 7089, published in December 2013, describes time-based access to Web resources. The two dates below are its header examples; they illustrate protocol vocabulary, not a capture we claim to have inspected. |
| WARC: distinguish two digests and two lengths | WARC-Block-Digest · WARC-Payload-Digest · WARC · Content-Length · HTTP · Content-Length · WARC-Refers-To · WARC-Truncated | WARC 1.1 distinguishes a record block from its payload. Lengths 1902 and 1662 come from the response example in Annex B; they are documentation values, not measurements we recalculated on an available file. |
| Wayback CDX: read a row and retain its filters | timestamp · original · statuscode · digest · length · matchType · collapse=digest · showResumeKey | The official CDX server README gives a JSON example of three archive.org captures in 1997. Values below come from Internet Archive’s published example, not a current Wayback query. |
| Feeds: paging, archives and complete sets are different | xmlns:fh · fh:complete · fh:archive · rel="prev-archive" · rel="next-archive" · rel="current" | RFC 5005 defines feed paging and archiving mechanisms. Not every RSS or Atom feed implements them. Before promising recovery after an outage, inspect the actual document and its exposed relations. |
| RFC 3161 timestamps: identify what the token actually dates | messageImprint · genTime · accuracy · ordering · nonce · policy · serialNumber | A timestamp token binds a digest to a time indication signed by a time-stamping authority, or TSA. RFC 3161 separates existence of bytes from document authorship dates and factual truth. |
| PAdES: four preservation levels, not four grades of truth | B-B · B-T · B-LT · B-LTA | ETSI EN 319 142-1 V1.1.1 describes these PDF signature levels; European Commission DSS 6.5 documents augmentation. They distinguish material available for validation over time. A level name does not replace its validation result. |
| Signed PDFs: identify the revision and covered bytes | /ByteRange · /Contents · /M · incremental update · /DocMDP · /FieldMDP | A signature image, typed name or visible stamp does not establish a validated digital signature. PDF structure and validator reports distinguish appearance, cryptographic coverage and later changes. |
| PDF/A: a preservation profile is not an authenticity certificate | PDF/A-1 · PDF/A-2 · PDF/A-3 · PDF/A-4f · pdfaid:part / pdfaid:conformance · PDF/UA | ISO 19005 parts specify preservation requirements for rendering and resources. This table compares documented profiles, not checks performed on visitors’ PDFs. Identify the exact profile before interpreting a conformance report. |
| EXIF: assemble a timestamp from the right components | DateTimeOriginal · OffsetTimeOriginal · SubSecTimeOriginal · DateTimeDigitized · OffsetTimeDigitized · SubSecTimeDigitized | Table 12 of CIPA DC-X010-2017 documents these fields and XMP mappings. It is an explicit tag-identifier reference, not a summary of every Exif version. One software-displayed date can hide present or missing components. |
| C2PA: validate provenance without certifying the scene | c2pa.claim.v2 · claim signature · hard binding · soft binding · c2pa.ingredient.v3 · c2pa.actions.v2 | C2PA 2.4 defines signed manifests associated with digital content. It separates structural and binding validation from judging assertions. A validation indicator does not replace editorial image examination. |
| Eurostat: separate observation and confidentiality status | b · d · p · i · m · bdip · C · N · P | Since 27 January 2025 Eurostat has split flags between OBS_STATUS and CONF_STATUS. Dissemination codelists checked on 22 October 2026 confirm these codes. Keep letter and field together: indiscriminate lowercasing can alter meaning. |
| Statistical adjustment: SA, CA and SCA are not interchangeable | NSA · SA · CA · SCA · TC · NAP | Eurostat’s S_ADJ response checked on 22 October 2026 distinguishes six categories. In the diagram S means seasonal and C calendar adjustment: 1 present, 0 absent. The code describes treatment, not overall series quality. |
| HICP 2026: distinguish reference-period and classification changes | 2015 → 2025 · 2026-01 · 12 · 13 · 09.4.7 · prc_hicp_ecoicop1 · prc_hicp_ecoicop2 | Eurostat introduced ECOICOP version 2 with January 2026 data and the 2025 = 100 index reference. Its note updated on 3 March 2026 also describes coverage changes. This is more than replacing a year in a table title. |
| Statistical balance sheets: stock changes are not the whole flow | L(t−1) · L(t) · F(t) · C(t) · E(t) · V(t) | The ECB’s January 2019 manual, section 5.1, distinguishes transactions from other changes in monetary financial institutions’ outstanding amounts. This notation summarizes that decomposition, not observed amounts or a universal aggregation rule. |
| World Bank GDP: six codes with different price bases | NY.GDP.MKTP.CD · NY.GDP.MKTP.KD · NY.GDP.MKTP.CN · NY.GDP.MKTP.KN · NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD · NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.KD | The six series names were checked in the World Bank API on 22 October 2026. Current dollars, constant dollars, local currency and international dollars are not interchangeable ways to state one amount. Choose the question before the series. |
From format to fact: three separate checks
Recognise the format
An identifier matching a pattern or checksum can still refer to the wrong entity. A format check catches typing errors; it does not verify the holder.
Find the right object
Open the corresponding register or document. Compare its name, scope, version and period with your question. Retain technical identifiers without translating them.
Qualify the conclusion
Separate what the source declares, what you observed and what remains unestablished. A value without a unit, period or definition cannot support a reliable comparison.
Notation examples explain a rule. They are neither certification nor a live check of your dossier.
Check documentary identifiers