{"id":"linked-art/api/shared-structures","relativePath":"linked-art/api/shared-structures.md","title":"Linked Art API: Shared Structures","markdown":"# Linked Art API: Shared Structures\n\n**Last refreshed:** 2026-07-06\n\nSource: [Shared Data Structures](https://linked.art/api/1.0/shared/), part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is a project summary; the upstream page is authoritative.\n\n## Purpose\n\nShared structures are reusable JSON-LD shapes embedded inside many Linked Art endpoint responses. They cover common descriptive and relational patterns such as names, identifiers, statements, dimensions, rights, references, activities, timespans, concepts, digital links, monetary amounts, and relationship assignments.\n\n## Shared Structure Families\n\n- [Activities](shared-activities.md) - embedded creations, publications, births, deaths, and other activities.\n- [Digital Links](shared-digital-links.md) - links to other digital content such as web pages and images.\n- [Dimensions](shared-dimensions.md) - measurements with a value, unit, and type.\n- [Identifiers](shared-identifiers.md) - identifiers such as accession numbers.\n- [Monetary Amounts](shared-monetary-amounts.md) - currency-qualified amounts.\n- [Names](shared-names.md) - human-language names assigned to a resource.\n- [Rights](shared-rights.md) - structured license, copyright, or property-right assertions.\n- [References](shared-references.md) - references to other entities in the system.\n- [Statements](shared-statements.md) - human-readable texts that describe the resource.\n- [TimeSpans](shared-timespans.md) - fuzzy time spans with begin and end boundaries.\n- [Types / Concepts](shared-concept-references.md) - concepts used to clarify an entity, such as painting rather than generic object.\n- [Relationships](shared-relationships.md) - `AttributeAssignment` structures for asserted relationships between entities.\n\n## Context Rule\n\nStructures embedded inside endpoint records do not carry their own `@context`; they inherit the main record's Linked Art context. If a shared structure is published separately in Linked Art format, then the separate representation must include its own `@context`.\n\n## URI And Completeness Rule\n\nMost embedded structures are complete enough in place, and an `id` on an embedded structure can be informational only. When an embedded structure such as a `Name` or `Dimension` has its own dereferenceable `id` and there is more information available at that URI, the embedded structure must include `_complete: false`. That signal tells consumers that dereferencing the URI may provide useful additional data.\n\n## Meta Museum Notes\n\nMeta Museum already preserves shared structures across record fixtures and API projections: `identified_by`, `classified_as`, `referred_to_by`, `dimension`, `timespan`, `subject_to`, `equivalent`, `representation`, activities, references, and relationship assignments are retained as Linked Art JSON-LD rather than flattened into UI-only fields. Record normalization now automatically emits `_complete: false` for partial dereferenceable embedded shared structures such as `Name`, `Identifier`, `Dimension`, `Right`, `LinguisticObject`, `TimeSpan`, `MonetaryAmount`, and `AttributeAssignment`. Ordinary compact references in `equivalent`, `member_of`, actor references, and other reference-only positions still do not carry `_complete`, and the inspector remains a guardrail for externally supplied payloads that bypass normalization.\n\n## Test Ideas\n\n- Preserve inherited context behavior: embedded structures should not gain local `@context` values inside endpoint records.\n- Extend automatic `_complete: false` fixture coverage across more dereferenceable embedded structures whose richer standalone records require the signal.\n- Preserve structured rights, timespans, identifiers, statements, dimensions, references, activities, and relationship assignments through `/api/records/{id}`.\n- Ensure UI DTO mapping never mutates canonical shared structures in stored Linked Art JSON-LD.\n","sections":[{"level":2,"heading":"Purpose","anchor":"purpose"},{"level":2,"heading":"Shared Structure Families","anchor":"shared-structure-families"},{"level":2,"heading":"Context Rule","anchor":"context-rule"},{"level":2,"heading":"URI And Completeness Rule","anchor":"uri-and-completeness-rule"},{"level":2,"heading":"Meta Museum Notes","anchor":"meta-museum-notes"},{"level":2,"heading":"Test Ideas","anchor":"test-ideas"}],"html":"<h1 id=\"linked-art-api-shared-structures\">Linked Art API: Shared Structures</h1>\n<p><strong>Last refreshed:</strong> 2026-07-06</p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https://linked.art/api/1.0/shared/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"doc-link\">Shared Data Structures</a>, part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"doc-link\">CC BY 4.0</a>. This is a project summary; the upstream page is authoritative.</p>\n<h2 id=\"purpose\">Purpose</h2>\n<p>Shared structures are reusable JSON-LD shapes embedded inside many Linked Art endpoint responses. They cover common descriptive and relational patterns such as names, identifiers, statements, dimensions, rights, references, activities, timespans, concepts, digital links, monetary amounts, and relationship assignments.</p>\n<h2 id=\"shared-structure-families\">Shared Structure Families</h2>\n<ul><li>Activities(shared-activities.md) - embedded creations, publications, births, deaths, and other activities.</li><li>Digital Links(shared-digital-links.md) - links to other digital content such as web pages and images.</li><li>Dimensions(shared-dimensions.md) - measurements with a value, unit, and type.</li><li>Identifiers(shared-identifiers.md) - identifiers such as accession numbers.</li><li>Monetary Amounts(shared-monetary-amounts.md) - currency-qualified amounts.</li><li>Names(shared-names.md) - human-language names assigned to a resource.</li><li>Rights(shared-rights.md) - structured license, copyright, or property-right assertions.</li><li>References(shared-references.md) - references to other entities in the system.</li><li>Statements(shared-statements.md) - human-readable texts that describe the resource.</li><li>TimeSpans(shared-timespans.md) - fuzzy time spans with begin and end boundaries.</li><li>Types / Concepts(shared-concept-references.md) - concepts used to clarify an entity, such as painting rather than generic object.</li><li>Relationships(shared-relationships.md) - `AttributeAssignment` structures for asserted relationships between entities.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"context-rule\">Context Rule</h2>\n<p>Structures embedded inside endpoint records do not carry their own `@context`; they inherit the main record&#39;s Linked Art context. If a shared structure is published separately in Linked Art format, then the separate representation must include its own `@context`.</p>\n<h2 id=\"uri-and-completeness-rule\">URI And Completeness Rule</h2>\n<p>Most embedded structures are complete enough in place, and an `id` on an embedded structure can be informational only. When an embedded structure such as a `Name` or `Dimension` has its own dereferenceable `id` and there is more information available at that URI, the embedded structure must include `_complete: false`. That signal tells consumers that dereferencing the URI may provide useful additional data.</p>\n<h2 id=\"meta-museum-notes\">Meta Museum Notes</h2>\n<p>Meta Museum already preserves shared structures across record fixtures and API projections: `identified_by`, `classified_as`, `referred_to_by`, `dimension`, `timespan`, `subject_to`, `equivalent`, `representation`, activities, references, and relationship assignments are retained as Linked Art JSON-LD rather than flattened into UI-only fields. Record normalization now automatically emits `_complete: false` for partial dereferenceable embedded shared structures such as `Name`, `Identifier`, `Dimension`, `Right`, `LinguisticObject`, `TimeSpan`, `MonetaryAmount`, and `AttributeAssignment`. Ordinary compact references in `equivalent`, `member_of`, actor references, and other reference-only positions still do not carry `_complete`, and the inspector remains a guardrail for externally supplied payloads that bypass normalization.</p>\n<h2 id=\"test-ideas\">Test Ideas</h2>\n<ul><li>Preserve inherited context behavior: embedded structures should not gain local `@context` values inside endpoint records.</li><li>Extend automatic `_complete: false` fixture coverage across more dereferenceable embedded structures whose richer standalone records require the signal.</li><li>Preserve structured rights, timespans, identifiers, statements, dimensions, references, activities, and relationship assignments through `/api/records/{id}`.</li><li>Ensure UI DTO mapping never mutates canonical shared structures in stored Linked Art JSON-LD.</li></ul>","updatedAt":"2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z","checksum":"9f6a99f012ad01aede70e43004ef4f6aaa83082d3700abc4e38464d07843b63d","checksumPrefix":"9f6a99f012ad","anchorCount":6,"lineCount":44,"rawUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-structures.md","htmlUrl":"/docs?doc=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-structures.md","apiUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-structures.md"}