InterPlanetary Linked Data (IPLD)

InterPlanetary Linked Data (IPLD) is one of the best ideas I have heard in years.  It seems to provide the possibility of creating a universal semantic substrate which is 100% independent of any specific technical "protocol" or "syntax" or "format". Here are links to resources to help you understand IPLD.

IPLD provides a canonical, protocol independent way to describe and link data. Any data structure that connects information using hashes can be expressed in IPLD’s model. This ensures that “the same logical object always maps to the exact same sequence of bits”.  By providing a unified namespace for all hash based data, IPLD makes information exchange:
  • Cross protocol/format: data can be followed across different technical systems, syntaxes, formats
  • Consistent: objects have stable, canonical representations
  • Future proof: IPLD is upgradeable through Multiformats 
  • Format agnostic: JSON, CBOR, YAML, XML, and more are supported 
In short, IPLD transforms the content addressable web into a coherent, traversable information space, enabling richer, safer, and more flexible data exchange across decentralized technologies.

The way I see it, IPLD works at the “atom” or "data" level of the Atomic Design Methodology design pattern.  My Digital Information Organism works at the “molecular”, “organism”, and “species” levels which are logical.

In general terms, a codec is a software component that encodes/decodes or decodes/encodes a data stream or signal. (See what a signal is in a knowledge organization framework.)

In IPLD terms, a codecs are functions that transform IPLD Data Model into serialized bytes so you can send and share data, and transform serialized bytes back into IPLD Data Model so you can work with it. There are lots of supported IPLD codecs, and you can write your own codecs. In simple terms, this is a way to convert say XBRL to RDF or RDF to XBRL or XBRL to JSON or JSON to XBRL or Excel  to XBRL or XBRL to Excel and such.

A DAG is a directed acyclic graph. IPLD borrows ideas from IPFS. One main idea is the Merkle DAG (a.k.a. Merkle tree, Merkle hash).

In IPLD, the DAG is the universal semantic substrate; like the Rosetta Stone, the Esperanto, the central logic; that all codecs map into.  It is the reason IPLD can unify Git, IPFS, blockchains, and any hash‑linked system into one traversable information space.

A semantic substrate is the foundational layer where meaning is represented in a stable, protocol‑independent way. “Universal” means every higher‑level representation can be reduced to, and reconstructed from, this substrate. In knowledge engineering, this substrate must be:
  • canonical: one meaning, one representation
  • lossless: no information lost when mapping in or out; encoded/decoded
  • protocol‑agnostic: not tied to any specific physical technical serialization format/syntax
  • linkable: able to reference other structures, locally or globally
  • composable: small units can form larger wholes
The IPLD data model satisfies all of these. IPLD's data model is effectively a universal semantic substrate.  Seems like my Digital Information Organism needs to be encodable/decodable from/to the IPLD data model.

A semantic substrate becomes universal when heterogeneous systems can all map into it. IPLD’s DAG can represent, for example:
And so, a universal semantic substrate is a canonical, lossless, protocol‑independent, linkable, composable data model that serves as the foundational meaning layer into which all higher‑order representations can be mapped and from which they can be reconstructed.

And so, IPLD helps one overcome one of the obstacles of using computers: information technology idiosyncrasies; information technology professionals use different technology options, techniques, and formats to encode and store, retrieve, and process exactly the same information. Multiple technology stacks are a fact of life.

Additional Information:

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