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ContextObjects in Spans (COinS) is a unmaintained method of embedding latentOpenURLContextObjects in web pages. This allows client software to retrievebibliographicmetadata and to use anOpenURLresolver to find a mediated link. A principal advantage of using COinS, rather than giving a static OpenURL, is that the client can determine which resolver to use. This allows, for instance, searching for a copy of a book in one's own library.
COinS have been added to various parts of Wikipedia. They are basically just a chunk ofbibliographic information stored in a way that machines can read. This has two applications:
So far, COinS have been added to:
For use on templates generating COinS:
{{UF-COinS}}
It adds pages to the above category.
COinS could, and should, be added to these templates:
The COinS keys used in mostCitation Style 1 templates are listed atModule talk:Citation/CS1/COinS.
For example:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{cite book |last=Bloggs |first=Fred |editor-first=John |editor-last=Doe |title=Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors |publisher=Book Publishers |date=January 1, 2001 |pages=100–110 |chapter=Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family |isbn=978-1-234-56789-7}} | Bloggs, Fred (January 1, 2001). "Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family". In Doe, John (ed.).Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors. Book Publishers. pp. 100–110.ISBN 978-1-234-56789-7. |
Which renders the following HTML:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000012-QINU`"'<cite>Bloggs, Fred (January 1, 2001). "Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family". In Doe, John (ed.). ''Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors''. Book Publishers. pp. <span>100–</span>110. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/978-1-234-56789-7|<bdi>978-1-234-56789-7</bdi>]].</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+2%3A+The+History+of+the+Bloggs+Family&rft.btitle=Big+Compilation+Book+with+Many+Chapters+and+Distinct+Chapter+Authors&rft.pages=100-110&rft.pub=Book+Publishers&rft.date=2001-01-01&rft.isbn=978-1-234-56789-7&rft.aulast=Bloggs&rft.aufirst=Fred&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3ACOinS"></span>
Picking out the COinS keys:
| Key | Data |
|---|---|
| rfr_id | info:sid/en.wikipedia.org: |
| rft.atitle | Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors |
| rft.au | Bloggs, Fred |
| rft.aufirst | Fred |
| rft.aulast | Bloggs |
| rft.btitle | Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family |
| rft.date | 2001-01-01 |
| rft.genre | bookitem |
| rft.isbn | 978-1-234-56789-7 |
| rft.pages | 100-110 |
| rft.pub | Book Publishers |
| rft_val_fmt | info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:book |
 | This articleis missing information about other cases in which the metadata gets polluted, e.g. chemical and math title renderings. The text would be more helpful if it illustrated some additional examples.. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page. |
Incorrect data in fields can pollute the metadata. For example, adding all of the authors into the deprecated|authors= parameter:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{cite book |authors=Smith, John; Johnson, Joe; Green, Ethan |title=Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors |publisher=Book Publishers |date=January 1, 2001 |pages=100–110 |chapter=Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family |isbn=978-1-234-56789-7}} | "Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family".Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors. Book Publishers. January 1, 2001. pp. 100–110.ISBN 978-1-234-56789-7. |
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001D-QINU`"'<cite>"Chapter 2: The History of the Bloggs Family". ''Big Compilation Book with Many Chapters and Distinct Chapter Authors''. Book Publishers. January 1, 2001. pp. <span>100–</span>110. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/978-1-234-56789-7|<bdi>978-1-234-56789-7</bdi>]].</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Chapter+2%3A+The+History+of+the+Bloggs+Family&rft.btitle=Big+Compilation+Book+with+Many+Chapters+and+Distinct+Chapter+Authors&rft.pages=100-110&rft.pub=Book+Publishers&rft.date=2001-01-01&rft.isbn=978-1-234-56789-7&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3ACOinS"></span> <span><code>{{[[Template:cite book|cite book]]}}</code>: </span><span>Unknown parameter <code>|authors=</code> ignored ([[Help:CS1 errors#parameter_ignored|help]])</span>[[Category:CS1 errors: unsupported parameter|ω]]
This would pollute the metadata, therefore the citation template suppresses the generation of metadata for|authors=, thereby omitting vital citation data from being submitted.
| Key | Data |
|---|---|
| rft.au | Smith, John; Johnson, Joe; Green, Ethan |
| rft.aufirst | not used |
| rft.aulast | Smith, John; Johnson, Joe; Green, Ethan |