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Context
A Higgins Context is a container of one or more Digital Subjects. Contexts data objects instantiated and managed by Context Provider plug-ins. Examples of Contexts that contain multiple Digital Subjects include: directories, informal groups, project teams, collaboration spaces, and communications systems and networks. Examples of Contexts that, at least from the point of view of the authenticated consumer, typically contain only a single Digital Subject are: driver's licenses, credit cards, business cards, and many other kinds of security devices.
Every Context has its own identifier namespace. Every Digital Subject within a Context has a unique identifier from this namespace called "CUID" --a Contextually Unique Identifier Identity Attribute.
Every Context has a schema that describes kinds of Digital Subjects and Identity Attributes that an instance of this Context contains.
Contexts are identified by URIs called ContextRefs. The Identity Attribute Service is the Higgins component that is used to connect to a Context and open it. Every Context has its own security policy, consumers must be able to provide the required Digital Identity object to "open" i.e. authenticate to a Context. Once opened, the contents of the Context can be searched, read and updated to varying extents based on the authorization policy of the Context.