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Usage of the HTTP reverse lookup mechanism

SURF supports a use case where you search the handle database to see if the URL is already used and has a PID assigned to it. This can prevent the case where a URL is assigned to two or more PIDs. This is called handle reverse lookup. For this feature a separate username/password is needed.

Use the right URL

Make sure to use the right URL including the port. The exact values have been communicated when your organisation received the connection and account information.


Examples via curl are:

curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles?URL=*"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles?URL=http://www.test.com"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles?URL=http://www.test.com&EMAIL=mail@test.com"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles?URL=*&limit=20"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles?URL=*&limit=20&page=0"

It is possible to limit the search to a specific prefix and other input using the EPIC servers. This is done via the parameters in the request URL. Some examples using curl for prefix 21.T12995 are:

curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles/21.T12995?URL=*"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles/21.T12995?URL=http://www.test.com"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles/21.T12995?URL=*&limit=20"
curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles/21.T12995?URL=*&limit=20&page=0"

To retrieve the full Handle records, set the optional "retrieverecords" parameter to 'true':

curl -u "username:password" "https://epic-pid.storage.surfsara.nl:8003/hrls/handles?URL=*&retrieverecords=true"

Note:

  • It will decode the standard strings, but NOT the handle specific records.
  • The maximum of limit is 100000. The default of limit is 1000. By default it will only show 1000 matches when searching.