Glossary · Versions and files

iiRDS Rendition

Also known as: rendition, content file

In iiRDS (intelligent information Request and Delivery Standard), a Rendition is the physical file that holds the content of an information unit — for example a PDF, an HTML page, an XML file or a video. It is linked to the unit with iirds:has-rendition.

iiRDS term
Ontology
Information architecture

In one sentence

An iiRDS Rendition is the actual file of an information unit, such as PDF or HTML, with its path in the package and its MIME type.

Example

The topic “Replacing the air filter” has two renditions: an HTML file for the service portal and a PDF for print. Both share the metadata of the one topic.

In-depth wiki articleiiRDS Rendition: the file behind an information unit

How it applies

Technical documentation: One information unit can have several renditions. Metadata is maintained once, on the unit, while the content is delivered in as many formats as needed.
Content delivery portals: A portal chooses the rendition by format — HTML for reading on screen, PDF for download or print, video for training.
AI and retrieval: Pipelines extract text from the rendition but take the context from the unit’s metadata. Keep both linked when indexing, or the extracted text loses its product and audience information.

Rules from the specification

A rendition must state the location of its file with iirds:source, as a path relative to the root folder of the iiRDS package, and its MIME type with iirds:format. To address only part of the file, a rendition can have a Selector via iirds:has-selector.

Rendition vs. InformationUnit

The InformationUnit carries the meaning and the metadata; the rendition is only the file. Metadata such as product or audience is therefore never attached to the rendition.

In RDF

Shown in Turtle for readability — inside a package, metadata.rdf is written in RDF/XML.

@prefix iirds: <http://iirds.tekom.de/iirds#> .

<https://example.com/iirds/replace-air-filter> a iirds:Topic ;
    iirds:has-rendition [
        a iirds:Rendition ;
        iirds:format "text/html" ;
        iirds:source "content/replace-air-filter.html"
    ] , [
        a iirds:Rendition ;
        iirds:format "application/pdf" ;
        iirds:source "content/replace-air-filter.pdf"
    ] .