Introduction

From DROID

DROID (Digital Record Object Identification) is a software tool developed by The National Archives to perform automated batch identification of file formats. Developed by its Digital Preservation Department as part of its broader digital preservation activities, DROID is designed to meet the fundamental requirement of any digital repository to be able to identify the precise format of all stored digital objects, and to link that identification to a central registry of technical information about that format and its dependencies.

DROID uses internal and external signatures to identify and report the specific file format versions of digital files. These signatures are stored in an XML signature file, generated from information recorded in the PRONOM technical registry. New and updated signatures are regularly added to PRONOM, and DROID can be configured to automatically download updated signature files from the PRONOM website via web services. DROID is a platform-independent Java application, and includes a documented, public API, for ease of integration with other systems. It can be invoked from two interfaces:

• A Java Swing GUI
• A command line interface

DROID allows files and folders to be selected from a file system for identification. This file list can be saved at any point. DROID can also be used to identify URIs and streams (command line interface only). After the identification process had been run, the results can be output in XML, CSV or printer-friendly formats.

Information about the past and future development of DROID can be found on the Development History page. For further information or feedback, please email the droid-users mailing list at droid-users@lists.sourceforge.net. To view the mail archive or subscribe to the list, please visit the droid-users mail archive.