title: CURIE
text: # CURIE
  
  In computing, a CURIE (or Compact URI) defines a generic, abbreviated syntax for expressing Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). It is an abbreviated URI expressed in a compact syntax, and may be found in both XML and non-XML grammars. A CURIE may be considered a datatype.
  
  An example of CURIE syntax: [isbn:0393315703]
  
  The square brackets may be used to prevent ambiguities between CURIEs and regular URIs, yielding so-called safe CURIEs.
  
  QNames (the namespace prefixes used in XML) often are used as a CURIE, and may be considered a type of CURIE. CURIEs, as defined by the W3C, will be better defined and may include checking. Unlike QNames, the part of a CURIE after the colon does not need to conform to the rules for XML element names.
  
  The first W3C Working Draft of CURIE syntax was released 7 March 2007.
  
  The final recommendation was released 16 December 2010.
  
  ## Example
  
  This example is based on one from the W3C Working Draft 7 March 2007, using a QName syntax within XHTML.
  
  * The definition ("<html xmlns:wikipedia="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">") is highlighted in yellow
  * The CURIE ("[wikipedia:Biome]") is highlighted in green
  