SoftWare Hash IDentifier: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:01, 27 May 2025

Latest revision as of 07:27, 12 June 2025

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| number =

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| organisation = [[Software Heritage]]

| digits =

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The identifier has the following syntax:<ref name="SWHID_tracking_past" />

<syntaxhighlight lang="noneunixconfig">

swh:<scheme_version>:<object_type>:<object_id>[;qualifiers]

</syntaxhighlight>

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Version 3.0 of the Linux kernel, released in July 2011, has the following SWHID:<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=Release v3.0 of torvalds/linux repository |url=https://archive.softwareheritage.org/browse/release/4204bcde7c0b93c5e127eb868e17b337a513cf34/?origin_url=https://github.com/torvalds/linux&release=v3.0&snapshot=130eecc6bd74794737bb078fe5c3fadd034eddcc |website=Software Heritage |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref>

<codesyntaxhighlight lang="text">swh:1:dir:df32c75242bf8d797ccd43af8ce8e294f35cd8fd</codesyntaxhighlight>

The following example, drawn from the specification documentation,<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=Qualified identifiers |url=https://www.swhid.org/specification/v1.2/6.Qualified_identifiers/ |website=swhid.org |access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref> illustrates the use of multiple qualifiers in an SWHID:

<syntaxhighlight lang="text">

swh:1:cnt:4d99d2d18326621ccdd70f5ea66c2e2ac236ad8b;origin=https://gitorious.org/ocamlp3l/ocamlp3l_cvs.git;visit=swh:1:snp:d7f1b9eb7ccb596c2622c4780febaa02549830f9;anchor=swh:1:rev:2db189928c94d62a3b4757b3eec68f0a4d4113f0;path=/Examples/SimpleFarm/simplefarm.ml;lines=9-15

</syntaxhighlight>

== Standards ==

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{{as of|2020}}, SWHIDs were in use for about nine billion versions of pieces of software,<ref name="CNRS_supports" /> termed "artefacts".<ref name="SWHID_tracking_past">{{cite Q|Q134580517|url-status=live}}</ref> SWHIDs are integrated with research repositories including [[HAL (open archive)|HAL]], [[Zenodo]] and the French catalog of Academic Research Free Software.<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=About the site |url=https://logiciels.catalogue-esr.fr/readme |website=French Catalog of Academic Research Free Software |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> The identifier can be used by [[package manager]]s. [[GNU Guix|Guix]] uses SWHIDs to retrieve source code in a software archive when unavailable at its original URL.<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=Identifying software |url=https://guix.gnu.org/fr/blog/2024/identifying-software |website=GNU Guix Blog |access-date=2025-05-27}}</ref>

The acronym SWHID originally referred to "Software Heritage Identifiers" used to catalog software artifacts in the early days of the [[Software Heritage]] archive.<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=SoftWare Hash IDentifier (SWHID) |url=https://www.softwareheritage.org/software-hash-identifier-swhid/ |website=Software Heritage |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> It later evolved into an open standard through a dedicated working group<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=SWHID working group |url=https://www.swhid.org/ |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref> and was standardized as ISO in April 2025 under the more general name "Software Hash Identifier".<ref>{{Cite web |language=en |title=ISO/IEC 18670:2025 |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/89985.html |website=ISO |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref>.

[[Télécom Paris]] welcomed the ISO normalization arguing that it is a significant step in global digital infrastructure, providing traceability of software affected by vulnerabilities.<ref name="TelecomParis_significant_advance">{{cite Q|Q134580605|url-status=live|trans-title=A significant advance for global digital infrastructure: the ISO/IEC 18670 standard is now official}}</ref> UNESCO stated that SWHID is useful for the reproducibility and long-term accessibility of software.<ref>{{cite Q|Q134581397|url-status=live}}</ref>.

== References ==