This repository will be versioned at periodic points in time with a Q1 Calendar Year target for major releases. Versioning tags will follow a pattern of `[MAJOR].[MINOR].[PATCH]`

Version Definitions:

As a rule, versioning will follow the specification outlined in the Semantic Versioning 2.0 spec This approach to versioning gives the ability to integrate with and provided automated testing and validation against defined types without worry of instability or breaking changes being introduced, while also limiting the frequency of possibly breaking changes to prevent a large number of incompatible versions.

To contribue to this vocabulary or reference technical details related to the project, please reference the primary README located on github

Please open an issue , if you wish to collaborate on this specification.

You may also reach out via the mailing list: public-credentials@w3.org (subscribe, archives)

Introduction

This specification describes a Linked Data Platform for operations related to leveraging Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable Credentials in a supply chain.

Generally, this api may be looked at as a set of common interfaces that are shared across multiple business verticals. A primary goal of this specification is to standardize support for JSON Schema based JSON-LD Verifiable Credentials that leverage Decentralized Identifiers exposed over HTTP according to the Open API Specification 3.0.

The Open API Specification section covers each operation and provides example inputs and expected responses.

Terminology

The following terms are used to describe concepts in this specification.

entity
A thing with distinct and independent existence, such as a person, organization, or device that performs one or more roles in the ecosystem.
user agent
A program, such as a browser or other Web client, that mediates the communication between the various roles in this specification.
URI
An identifier as defined by [[RFC3986]].

Privacy Considerations

This section details the general privacy considerations and specific privacy implications of deploying this specification into production environments.

Security Considerations

There are a number of security considerations that implementers should be aware of when processing data described by this specification. Ignoring or not understanding the implications of this section can result in security vulnerabilities.

While this section attempts to highlight a broad set of security considerations, it is not a complete list. Implementers are urged to seek the advice of security and cryptography professionals when implementing mission critical systems using the technology outlined in this specification.

Accessibility Considerations

There are a number of accessibility considerations implementers should be aware of when processing data described in this specification. As with any web standards or protocols implementation, ignoring accessibility issues makes this information unusable to a large subset of the population. It is important to follow accessibility guidelines and standards, such as [[WCAG21]], to ensure all people, regardless of ability, can make use of this data. This is especially important when establishing systems utilizing cryptography, which have historically created problems for assistive technologies.

This section details the general accessibility considerations to take into account when utilizing this data model.

Internationalization Considerations

There are a number of internationalization considerations implementers should be aware of when publishing data described in this specification. As with any web standards or protocols implementation, ignoring internationalization makes it difficult for data to be produced and consumed across a disparate set of languages and societies, which would limit the applicability of the specification and significantly diminish its value as a standard.

This section outlines general internationalization considerations to take into account when utilizing this data model.