Currently, contributors are required to add an id manually to files; this is prone to errors as the ID could e.g. be not unique. As a remedy, we should auto-generate IDs on behalf of the contributor. Possible options:

• generate id from title property:
  • pro: gives a hint about the file contents (project, product etc.)
  • contra: if the title is later changed, the id might diverge substantially from it, possibly causing confusion
• generate id randomly (UUID):
  • pro: guaranteed to be unique
  • contra: gives no hint at all about the file contents

In general, we should remind ourselves that the way to browse the catalog is by using the OSC GUI (powered by STAC Browser) and not the repository itself - this might influence our decision.