[Edu-sig] Talking about "Handles"

[Scott David Daniels]

I'm catching up here, and just read the namespaces thing --
How about "namespaces are like card catalogs in a closed stack library."
At the Library of Congress (here in the U.S.), up through when I last
went (some time ago), any U.S. citizen can go in and find a book in a
catalog (I'm certain electronically automated by now) -- they are kind
of sprinkled around as I remember), fill out a slip of paper, including
a desk number, and wait at that desk.  If no member of congress has the
book out, it shows up on that desk, often in less than 20 minutes.

If a book wound up in the library with no entries in any catalog, it
would effectively be gone, whether or not the buildings vast archives
held the book.  The books don't care, however, how many different
cards reference them (nor even if the only reference to them is
written in some book which _is_ referenced by some card in the catalog).

-- Scott David Daniels
Scott.Daniels at Acm.Org