Any resource requires a standard subset of metadata to specify its identity, presumably an xml document fragment, eg:

<resourceIdentifier>
   <name>...</name>
   <resourceType>...</resourceType>
   <location>
      <url>...</url>
      ...
   </location>
</resourceIdentifier>

IVOA Identifiers Working Draft

An identifier specification is currently moving through the IVOA Standardization process. See /twiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome/Documents for details.

-- RayPlante - 15 Oct 2003