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 8 of 9
| Object to check | Code or notation | Context and use |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated quotation: locate the passage with context | exact · prefix · suffix · matches | Identical quotations can occur more than once. Web Annotation distinguishes the selected text from its immediate prefix and suffix. Context can resolve ambiguity; it proves neither authorship nor factual accuracy. |
| Quotation positions: count code points, not JavaScript units | start / end · Unicode / UTF-16 · grapheme · resource changes | Start and end offsets are reproducible only when the text and counting unit stay the same. TextPositionSelector counts Unicode code points in logical order, including for right-to-left text. |
| Citing a passage: separate selection from source state | selector · state / cached · sourceDate · W3C example 31 · HttpRequestState | A text selector answers “which passage?”; a state answers “which representation?”. Keeping both helps an evidence record or AI-summary check avoid attributing a quotation to the wrong version. |
| Observed proportion: report counts and a Wilson interval | Observed proportion · Wilson score · Confidence level · x = 0 · Sampling model | Five positive cases out of twenty give 25%, as do 250 out of 1,000. Under a suitable binomial model, the estimates do not have equal precision. This explorer separates the observed rate, confidence level and calculated limits. |
| Compare systems on the same cases: retain the pairs | a / d · b · c · m = b + c · Exact two-sided p | Two overall rates do not reveal which cases changed. A paired table classifies each case once using decisions from A and B under the same binary criterion. The exact McNemar test uses discordant pairs. |
| OCR: measure errors against an explicit reference and profile | S / D / I · N / M · CER / WER (%) · units / profile · tie-break · N = 0 | Levenshtein distance counts the minimum operations needed to turn a reference into candidate text. It can examine a transcription or excerpt, but does not assess translation faithfulness or answer truth. |
| Several OCR documents: sum errors and reference lengths | corpus · document mean · example · alignment boundary | Mean document rates and a corpus rate answer different questions. This reader exposes denominators, including a reference verified to be empty. |
| HTTP byte ranges: inclusive endpoints and selected length | 0-499 · 500- / -200 · 1000- / 499-0 · 200 / 206 / 416 · Content-Encoding | Resuming a transfer requires precise byte positions. HTTP byte offsets start at zero and both endpoints are inclusive. The calculation separates range validity, satisfiability for a known length and the server’s actual response. |
| Combining fragments: coverage, gaps and representation identity | 0-399,300-599,700-999 · 0-499,500-999 · Content-Range · ETag · If-Range | Adding received lengths can conceal an incomplete transfer: overlap counts the same positions repeatedly. Compute the union of the intervals and compare it with the intended representation. This geometric check remains separate from byte identity and provenance. |
| JSON Merge Patch: delete, retain or replace a value | member absent · member: null · {} · null / [] / scalar · JSON values | A partial update must identify its format. JSON Merge Patch describes values to merge into a target; JSON Patch describes operations. Their media types and treatment of null differ. The simulator lets you inspect a merge without calling an API. |
| JSON Patch: follow operations on the current document | add · remove / replace · move · copy / test · HTTP PATCH · Content-Type | A JSON Patch list is evaluated in order. Each path addresses the document produced by previous operations, not a permanent snapshot of the initial document. These nine original walkthroughs show calculation states and stopping conditions. |
| SemVer: compare precedence without inventing identity | MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH · 1.9.0 / 1.10.0 · -alpha.1 · -2 / -alpha · +001 | SemVer 2.0.0 defines syntax and precedence for software versions with a declared public API. Treating them as plain strings or decimal numbers gives incorrect results. A dataset date or tag name does not automatically adopt this contract. |
| SemVer: connect a version increment to a declared change | PATCH · MINOR · deprecated · MAJOR · 0.y.z / -rc.1 · released content | A version number cannot reveal a change’s impact by itself. For a public API already using SemVer with a positive major version, the team must first classify the change. The calculator then illustrates the corresponding increment; it performs no compatibility audit. |
| BnF: separate the reading room, catalogue and digital copy | 2023-06-10 · 1897 / 1932 / 1936 / 2022 · catalogue.bnf.fr / gallica.bnf.fr · ARK / edition / view · CC BY-SA 4.0 | Beneath the Oval Room’s glass roof, reading tables and shelves give documentary research a physical setting. This photograph locates BnF Richelieu in Paris; it shows neither a Gallica page nor a book’s online availability. Finding a source requires moving from the place to the record and then to the exact document. |
| French National Archives: connect an item, its fonds and holding location | 2017-06-09 · 1705–1708 · 1808 / 1867 · fonds / series / reference · CC BY 2.0 | The Hôtel de Soubise courtyard provides a concrete reference for the French National Archives’ Paris site. Recognizing the institution in a photograph does not establish where a particular item is held, whether it is digitized or how to consult it. Start with the fonds description and item reference. |
| Internet Archive: trace the components of a capture | 2011-12-09 / 2012-05-07 · HTML / CSS / image / JS · URL / timestamp · original URL / archived URL · CC BY-SA 3.0 | This rack bearing the Internet Archive name shows that web preservation also relies on physical infrastructure. Steven Walling photographed it at the San Francisco headquarters on 9 December 2011. The image describes neither current equipment nor a particular Wayback Machine capture’s contents. |
| A resolving reference may have been corrected | Crossmark · update-to · DOI | A DOI that resolves identifies a document; it does not establish its editorial status. Before reusing a scientific conclusion, look for linked corrections, retractions and other updates. |
| A corrected version and a new period are different relationships | dcat:hasVersion · dcat:previousVersion · dcat:inSeries | An annual release and a correction to the same file serve different purposes. DCAT 3 describes resource versions and datasets belonging to a series explicitly; these links do not replace reading the methodology. |
| HTTP writes: check the version before replacing a document | PUT · If-Match: "v1" · PUT · If-Match: "v2" · PUT · If-Match: W/"v2" · PUT · If-None-Match: * · GET · If-None-Match: W/"v2" · 428 | Two editors may read one version and submit different corrections. A precondition lets the server reject a write based on an older representation. These examples are fictional: v1 and v2 are teaching tags, not observations from a service. |
| Partial dates: preserve the source’s precision | 2024 · 2024-02 · 2024-02-29 | A publication may give only a year or month. Filling it with January 1 invents precision absent from the document. Compare compatible periods before ordering two events. |
| Corroboration: distinguish documents from origins | A: - · A: ? · B: A,C | Six pages citing one another may describe just one observation. For a specific claim, map reuse before counting confirmations. The examples and reading rules below are this site’s teaching method; PROV-O documents provenance relations without supplying an independence score. |
| PubMed: check the interpreted query | Search Details · Quoted phrase not found in phrase index · "A B"[tiab:~0] | Before recording a negative search, inspect its strategy and warnings. |
| Build the panel: 20 structured views, 2 drawn views, then missing process steps | S01…S20 · R01, R02 · P01, P03, P04 · S ∪ R ∪ P | WCAG-EM 2.0, the Group Note of 23 July 2026, describes a random addition equal to 10% of the structured sample set, excluding views already selected. The percentage applies to that set, not all pages of the website. The method also includes complete processes; a URL alone may miss successive form states. |
| ACS: a negative integer may be a code rather than a quantity | E · -666666666 · E / M · -999999999 · E / M · -888888888 · M · -222222222 · M · -333333333 · M · -555555555 | The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey publishes numeric codes and paired annotations. Keep E with EA for the estimate, and M with MA for its margin of error. This dictionary is producer specific; it does not turn every negative number into a missing value. |
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