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Paxman

ISNI

Canonicalizes one ISNI mention per call — a spaced display (0000 0001 2103 2683), a compact 16-char run, a hyphenated form, an ISNI-labelled mention, an isni.org URI, or a urn:isni: carrier — to the spaced display form.

In plain language: give it ISNI 0000 0001 2103 2683, 0000000121032683, or https://isni.org/isni/0000000121032683 and it hands back 0000 0001 2103 2683 when the shape is 15 digits plus a MOD 11-2 check character per ISO 27729:2024. A bad check digit is INVALID, never a guess; shapes outside the recognized spellings are MISSING.

What it recognizes — and what it does not

Section titled “What it recognizes — and what it does not”
RecognizesDoes not recognize
Spaced display (0000 0001 2103 2683, ISNI 0000 0001 2103 2683; lowercase folds up)Double spaces / tabs between quads (0000 0001 …) → MISSING (single space only)
Compact 16-char (0000000121032683, Wikidata/VIAF dumps)Wrong lengths (15/17-char runs) → MISSING (length guard)
Hyphenated (0000-0001-2103-2683 — ORCID-style input normalizes to spaced)X mid-run (000X 0001 …) → MISSING (check position 16 only)
ISNI label with separator (ISNI: …, ISNI-… — case-insensitive)Glued label (ISNI0000…, no separator) → MISSING
isni.org URIs (https://isni.org/isni/…, http://, www. variants)MARC (isni)… / VIAF ISNI|… wrappers — inner compact mention still resolves as an embedded mention (no dedicated wrapper pattern in v1)
urn:isni: carrier (urn:isni:0000000121241960)Fullwidth digits → MISSING (ASCII only, no autocorrection)
Lowercase x check (…955x → …955X)Glued surroundings (X0000…, …2683Y) → MISSING (word boundary)
Embedded mentions (see ISNI 0000 0001 2103 2683 (Shakespeare))Prose without an ISNI shape (not an isni) → MISSING

Canonical output

Section titled “Canonical output”

Default output_format is "isni" (spaced display XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXC).

output_formatRendersExample
(default) isni / None / "default"Spaced display0000 0001 2103 2683
compact16-char, no spaces0000000121032683
urnIANA carrierurn:isni:0000000121241960

Any other value raises ContractError — including hyphenated, which is ORCID’s presentation, not ISNI’s. Every offered format re-enters under the default contract (ADR-0010 fixed point).

from paxman.capabilities import ISNI
import paxman


paxman.register_all_shipped()
print(paxman.canonicalize("ISNI 0000 0001 2103 2683", ISNI.create_contract()).canonicalized_value)
print(paxman.canonicalize("0000000121032683", ISNI.create_contract()).canonicalized_value)
print(paxman.canonicalize("0000-0001-2103-2683", ISNI.create_contract()).canonicalized_value)
print(paxman.canonicalize("0000000121032683", ISNI.create_contract(output_format="urn")).canonicalized_value)

Contract

Section titled “Contract”
contract = ISNI.create_contract(
    output_format=None,  # "isni" (default); None/"default"/"isni" all resolve to it
    # plus every common field: suppress_common_words / excluded_rules / pinned_rules / year / extra_grammars
)
  • One grammar: isni_recognition (spaced/compact/hyphen + label/host/carrier groups).
  • Two rules: Section 4-isni-structure + Section A-mod11-2-check-character (ISO 27729:2024; both PARSER, always-active — no registry flag exists).
  • year filters by publication_year; e.g., year=2023 drops the 2024 rules → 0000000121032683 becomes INVALID.
  • Deterministic by construction: same input + contract + vendored snapshot → same output. No clock, no registry lookup.

Statuses

Section titled “Statuses”
InputContractStatusValue / why
ISNI 0000 0001 2103 2683defaultsSUCCESS"0000 0001 2103 2683"
0000000121032683 / hyphenated twindefaultsSUCCESSsame spaced canonical (presentation-only dedup)
https://isni.org/isni/… / urn:isni:…defaultsSUCCESScarriers stripped, span includes carrier
0000 0001 2281 955xdefaultsSUCCESS"0000 0001 2281 955X" (lowercase-x tolerance)
000000012146438XdefaultsSUCCESSX check digit validates
0000000121032684defaultsINVALIDrecognized shape, MOD 11-2 fails
ISNI0000000121032683defaultsMISSINGglued label needs a separator
000000012103268 (15) / 17-chardefaultsMISSINGlength guard
two distinct ISNIsdefaultsraises MultipleMentionsErrorun-segmented multi-entity input (single_value=True)
0000000121032683year=2023INVALIDrules are 2024, dropped
0000000121032683output_format="hyphenated"raises ContractErrornever offered

Sibling note: a hyphenated 16-digit string also matches the ORCID shape — each side resolves under its own contract (ISNI SUCCESS spaced, ORCID SUCCESS hyphenated). The same holds for ORCID:-labeled or urn:orcid:-carried digits: ORCID iDs are ISNI-compatible by design, so structurally valid digits resolve as ISNI with ISO 27729 provenance (symmetric with shipped ORCID claiming ISNI: labels). Unassigned-but-shaped numbers read SUCCESS (storable, no registry — UUID precedent).

Notebook snippet — normalize a mixed column

Section titled “Notebook snippet — normalize a mixed column”
import paxman
from paxman.capabilities import ISNI
from paxman.core.domain import Resolution


paxman.register_all_shipped()
contract = ISNI.create_contract()


rows = [
    "ISNI 0000 0001 2103 2683",
    "0000000121032683",
    "0000-0001-2103-2683",
    "https://isni.org/isni/0000000121032683",
    "urn:isni:0000000121241960",
    "0000 0001 2281 955x",
    "0000000121032684",
    "ISNI0000000121032683",
    "not an isni",
]


for text in rows:
    r = paxman.canonicalize(text, contract)
    val = r.canonicalized_value if r.status == Resolution.SUCCESS else "—"
    rule = r.candidates[0].validation_rule if r.candidates else "—"
    print(f"{text!r:46} → {r.status.value:10} {val!r:24} ({rule})")

Provenance

Section titled “Provenance”
  • ISO 27729:2024 (specification; 16-char structure: 15 digits + MOD 11-2 check character) — Section 4-isni-structure (vendored version 2024-11)
  • ISO 27729:2024 Annex A (specification; MOD 11-2 over the first 15 decimal digits, X = 10) — Section A-mod11-2-check-character

Each candidate’s validation_rule carries the section, and candidate.provenance[0].publication_year the year.

See also: ORCID, ISBN, Execution Result, Provenance.