Attribute

Definition

Higgins uses the Identity Gang definition of Identity Attribute.

Examples

The physical person (i.e. Entity) Bob Smith might be represented as a Digital Subject in the Context of his employer, the Port Control Authority. This Digital Subject might have the following types of Identity Attributes (and associated values) in this context:

• email-address = bob@portcontrol.gov
• phone number = 617-555-1234
• passport information = ...etc.
• fingerprint data = ...etc.

This same physical Entity Bob Smith is also represented as a Digital Subject in a "customer-to-Clothes-R-Us" Context (this customer's relationship with the Clothes-R-Us merchant. In this Context Bob has these Identity Attributes:

• platinumCustomer
• preferredColor = "blue"

In Higgins

Types

In Higgins a Identity Attribute is identified by a URI that defines its type. The URI http://openschemas.org/2006/person/surname might indicate an Identity Attribute that represented a person's last name. The schema associated with the containing Context provides metadata about this URI.

Values

Some Identity Attributes are defined by the containing Context's schema to allow multiple unique values. For example the attribute preferredBreakfast might have the values {spam, eggs}, but it could not have the values {spam, spam, spam, eggs, spam}.