[ckan-discuss] Short-link tool

Tue Dec 20 12:45:15 GMT 2011

Ross Jones wrote:
> I think I've come across the need for a shortlink tool (like bit.ly or
> tinyurl - http://trac.ckan.org/ticket/1549 ), and rather than partially
> implement it somewhere I thought it would be a fairly useful tool generally.
>  I have a specific use-case where CKAN can create a shortlink and then at a
> later time update the target URI, and generating some analytics from users
> following the shortlinks - but thought it might be sensible to see if anyone
> else has any ideas/thoughts to contribute?

FYI, such ability to maintain an identifier was an original
motivation/requirement of the DOI (which is why the Handle System was
the obvious choice for implementation).

Note that providing the ability to maintain the short URL implies some
kind of authority --- either based on the originating user or a ckan
administrator.

The idea of analytics as a motivator is very good; this is a great
feature of bit.ly

Another feature to consider might be short URL lookup based on target
URL at short URL creation time, to avoid multiple short URL for the
same target.

-- 
John S. Erickson, Ph.D.
Director, Web Science Operations
Tetherless World Constellation (RPI)
<http://tw.rpi.edu> <olyerickson at gmail.com>
Twitter & Skype: olyerickson