Signature
This document defines the Signature resource.
Signatures are a type of action that a user may take by completing a petition. Signatures have fields to describe them such as when the signature was created and typically are linked to the person who made the signature.
Sections
Endpoints and URL structures
OSDI does not specify specific endpoints and link structures for compliant systems to use. Rather, because OSDI is a HAL+JSON API, endpoints and structures are defined in the links section of each returned resource, starting with the API Entry Point link.
HAL’s link structure lets an API consumer move through API levels, resources, and collections by parsing and following links. While most systems will not change the value of their links often and obey RESTful design principles, the value of each link when that resource is retrieved is the only canonical value, and it can change at any time.
The link relation label for a Signature resource is osdi:signature for a single Signature resource or osdi:signatures for a collection of Signature resources.
Fields
The field names for this resource, with standard names, punctuation and capitalization, and values where appropriate.
Note: As with the entire OSDI specification, the specific fields a compliant system implements will vary between each system, as will the fields each system requires when creating or updating resources, which fields are writeable, and the operations you are allowed to perform on each resource.
Common Fields
A set of common fields that appear on all resources is included first, for reference.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| identifiers | strings[] | A unique string array of identifiers in the format [system name]:[id]. See the general concepts document for more information about identifiers. |
| created_date | datetime | A read-only property representing the date and time the resource was created on the local system. |
| modified_date | datetime | A read-only property representing the date and time the resource was last modified on the local system. |
Control Headers
An “osdi:control” JSON object may contain common OSDI control headers which can be used on an OSDI POST, PUT, PATCH, Helper or other function calls to modify server behavior. Read More
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| return_response | boolean | Defaults to true, if specified as false, the operation does not need to return the resource representation in the response |
Signature Fields
A list of fields specific to the Signature resource.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| origin_system | string | A human readable identifier of the system where this signature was created. (ex: “OSDI System”) |
| action_date | string | The date and time the signature was made by the person. |
| comments | string | The comments left by the person when the signature was created. |
| referrer_data | Referrer Data* | An object hash representing referrer and sourcing information about this signature. |
Related Objects
These JSON hashes included in the table above are broken out into their own tables for readability, rather than independent resources with their own endpoints.
Referrer Data
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| referrer_data.source | string | The source code that was used when this signature was created. Typically used to track individual links, such as a post on social media or a link in a specific email. (ex: “facebook-101016-mainpage”) |
| referrer_data.referrer | string | The code or ID representing a person or group that referred this signature. Typically used to track which person referred the person who made this signature. (ex: “jane-doe”) |
| referrer_data.website | string | The top level domain of the website where the person clicked from to then subsequently make this signature. (ex: “facebook.com”) |
| referrer_data.url | string | The specific URL where the person clicked from to then subsequently make this signature. (ex: “https://facebook.com/posts/12345”) |
Links
The links associated with this resource, available in the links section of the resource. Links that are part of the OSDI spec are typically prefixed with the osdi: namespace to aid in curie matching and readability.
Note: As with the entire OSDI specification, the specific links a compliant system supplies will vary between each system. In addition, systems may choose to embed a linked resource directly in the response in addition to linking to it in the links section, using the standard _embedded syntax described in the general overview documentation.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| self | Signature* | A self-referential link to the signature. |
| person | Person* | A link to a single Person resource representing the person who signed the petition. |
| petition | Petition* | A link to a Petition resource representing the petition on which this signature was created. |
Helpers
Helpers faciliate combined creation operations (POST) that are commonly performed by users. Each resource may have one or more associated helpers, which perform different operations and have separate syntax. Some initial OSDI implementations may only support helpers, rather than full RESTful access.
The helpers that operate on this resource are described in the table below. Click on the helper to view its documentation and syntax.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| record_signature_helper | Allows the creation of a signature and a person at the same time. |
Related Resources
Scenarios
The scenarios below show some common Create, Read, Update, Delete (CRUD) operations that can be performed on this resource, as well as any resource-specific behaviors worth highlighting. The following examples are for informational purposes. The authoritative resource definitions are above in the Fields tables and should be followed in the event of a conflict with the examples.
Scenario: Retrieving a collection of Signature resources (GET)
Signature resources are sometimes presented as collections of signatures. For example, calling the signatures endpoint on a particular petition will return a collection of all the signatures made on that petition.
Request
GET https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures
Header:
OSDI-API-Token:[your api key here]
Response
200 OK
Content-Type: application/hal+json
Cache-Control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
{
"total_pages": 10,
"per_page": 25,
"page": 1,
"total_records": 250,
"_links": {
"next": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures?page=2"
},
"osdi:signatures": [
{
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-d0ec501b0bc3"
},
{
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/1efc3644-af25-4253-90b8-a0baf12dbd1e"
},
//(truncated for brevity)
],
"curies": [
{
"name": "osdi",
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/docs/v1/{rel}",
"templated": true
}
],
"self": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures"
}
},
"_embedded": {
"osdi:signatures": [
{
"identifiers": [
"osdi_sample_system:d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-d0ec501b0bc3",
"foreign_system:1"
],
"origin_system": "OSDI Sample System",
"created_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"modified_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"action_date": "2014-03-18T11:02:15Z",
"comments": "Please stop doing the bad thing!",
"referrer_data": {
"source": "facebook-101016-mainpage",
"referrer": "jane-doe",
"website": "facebook.com",
"url": "https://facebook.com/posts/12345"
},
"_links": {
"self": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-d0ec501b0bc3"
},
"osdi:petition": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29"
},
"osdi:person": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/people/65345d7d-cd24-466a-a698-4a7686ef684f"
}
}
},
{
"identifiers": [
"osdi_sample_system:1efc3644-af25-4253-90b8-a0baf12dbd1e"
],
"origin_system": "OSDI Sample System",
"created_date": "2014-03-20T20:44:13Z",
"modified_date": "2014-03-20T20:44:13Z",
"action_date": "2014-03-12T01:45:34Z",
"referrer_data": {
"source": "email-101116-subjecttest1"
},
"_links": {
"self": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/1efc3644-af25-4253-90b8-a0baf12dbd1e"
},
"osdi:petition": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29"
},
"osdi:person": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/people/adb951cb-51f9-420e-b7e6-de953195ec86"
}
}
},
//(truncated for brevity)
]
}
}
Scenario: Scenario: Retrieving an individual Signature resource (GET)
Calling an individual Signature resource will return the resource directly, along with all associated fields and appropriate links to additional information about the signature.
Request
GET https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-d0ec501b0bc3
Header:
OSDI-API-Token:[your api key here]
Response
200 OK
Content-Type: application/hal+json
Cache-Control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
{
"identifiers": [
"osdi_sample_system:d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-d0ec501b0bc3",
"foreign_system:1"
],
"origin_system": "OSDI Sample System",
"created_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"modified_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"action_date": "2014-03-18T11:02:15Z",
"comments": "Please stop doing the bad thing!",
"referrer_data": {
"source": "facebook-101016-mainpage",
"referrer": "jane-doe",
"website": "facebook.com",
"url": "https://facebook.com/posts/12345"
},
"_links": {
"self": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-d0ec501b0bc3"
},
"osdi:petition": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29"
},
"osdi:person": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/people/65345d7d-cd24-466a-a698-4a7686ef684f"
}
}
}
Scenario: Creating a new signature (POST)
Posting to the signatures collection endpoint and including a link to an existing Person resource will allow you to create a new signature associated with that petition and person. The response is the new signature that was created. While each implementing system will require different fields, any optional fields not included in a post operation should not be set at all by the receiving system, or should be set to default values.
For information on how to create a person along with a signature, see the Record Signature Helper documentation.
Request
POST https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/
Header:
OSDI-API-Token:[your api key here]
{
"identifiers": [
"foreign_system:1"
],
"origin_system": "OpenSupporter",
"action_date": "2014-03-18T11:02:15Z",
"comments": "Please stop!",
"referrer_data": {
"source": "api"
},
"_links" : {
"osdi:person" : {
"href" : "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/people/65345d7d-cd24-466a-a698-4a7686ef684f"
}
}
}
Response
200 OK
Content-Type: application/hal+json
Cache-Control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
{
"identifiers": [
"osdi_sample_system:d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-de9uemdse",
"foreign_system:1"
],
"created_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"modified_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"action_date": "2014-03-18T11:02:15Z",
"comments": "Please stop!",
"referrer_data": {
"source": "api"
},
"_links": {
"self": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-de9uemdse"
},
"osdi:petition": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29"
},
"osdi:person": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/people/65345d7d-cd24-466a-a698-4a7686ef684f"
}
}
}
Scenario: Modifying a signature (PUT)
You can update a signature by calling a PUT operation on that signature’s endpoint. Your PUT should contain fields that you want to update. Missing fields will be ignored by the receiving system. Systems may also ignore PUT values, depending on whether fields you are trying to modify are read-only or not. You may set an attribute to nil by including the attribute using nil for value.
Note: Modifying members of an array separately is not supported. To change the contents of an array, first GET the current contents and then PUT back only those you wish to keep.
Request
PUT https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-de9uemdse/
Header:
OSDI-API-Token:[your api key here]
{
"action_date": "2014-03-17T11:02:15Z"
}
Response
200 OK
Content-Type: application/hal+json
Cache-Control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
{
"identifiers": [
"osdi_sample_system:d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-de9uemdse",
"foreign_system:1"
],
"created_date": "2014-03-20T21:04:31Z",
"modified_date": "2014-03-20T22:04:31Z",
"action_date": "2014-03-17T11:02:15Z",
"comments": "Please stop!",
"referrer_data": {
"source": "facebook-101016-mainpage",
"referrer": "jane-doe",
"website": "facebook.com",
"url": "https://facebook.com/posts/12345"
},
"_links": {
"self": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-de9uemdse"
},
"osdi:petitions": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29"
},
"osdi:person": {
"href": "https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/people/65345d7d-cd24-466a-a698-4a7686ef684f"
}
}
}
Scenario: Deleting a signature (DELETE)
You may delete a signature by calling the DELETE command on the signature’s endpoint.
Request
DELETE https://osdi-sample-system.org/api/v1/petitions/c945d6fe-929e-11e3-a2e9-12313d316c29/signatures/d91b4b2e-ae0e-4cd3-9ed7-de9uemdse
Header:
OSDI-API-Token:[your api key here]
Response
200 OK
Content-Type: application/hal+json
Cache-Control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
{
"notice": "This signature was successfully deleted."
}