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VC Syntax

In order to efficiently describe verifiable credentials, we shall use the following simplified syntax.

The notation that we propose is as follows:

{ Relation (entity1@, entity2+) } [signatory-]

using the normal shorthand expression, where:

  • Relation: is the relation holding between one or more entities;
  • entity1@: identifies an entity using an indirect expression, such as a URI;
  • entity2+: identifies an entity using a direct public key reference;
  • signatory-: identifies the private key of the entity acting as a signatory of the expression;

and A -> B is used to denote message passing, e.g.

signatory -> entity2 : { Relation (entity1@, entity2+) } [signatory-]

At an implementation level, each statement is encapsulated as a W3C Verifiable Credential (VC).

The schemas used are formally defined in the following section: xxx