How do you resolve a DID?
The equivalent to searching a registration plate number on a DVLA indexing site, is resolving a DID through a DID resolution method.
When you want to search for a License Plate registration, you generally search the Registration number into an indexing service, such as the DVLA website below:
Image showing the DVLA license plate number index and search service
Through this search function, you are able to retrieve information about what the license plate refers to.
For example, with James Bond's license plate, the following information is fetched:
Indexed information about James Bond's DB5
This creates a level of confidence in the fact that the registration plate belongs to the specific car, as a person could cross reference the listed features against the visual features of the car. Further, any competent authority would have the power to go one level deeper and tie the legal owner of the car to the license plate.
As previously mentioned a DID is a unique identifier that can be anchored to a Verifiable Data Registry, in order to store information in a highly available way.
A DID at face value is a URL, which has the following composition:
DID URL syntax and composition
cheqd has multiple implementations of a DID Resolver, and for more technical information you can look at our Architecture Decision Record on DID Resolver.
One common implementation of a DID Resolver is through hosting a DID Resolver on the Universal Resolver.
Below, you can see the method for resolving a registration plate number, as well as the similar method for resolving a DID.
Two images showing the similarities between a License plate lookup and a DID lookup service
When inputted here, relevant information will be shown about the DID, in the form of a DID Document. This is possible because the DID and it's adjacent DID Document are both stored on a Verifiable Data Registry, such as a blockchain or trustworthy database.
Learn how to understand the outcome of a DID resolution, a DID Document, in the next section.
Last modified 5mo ago