OiRc-0008 A question of semantics

As I am reviewing my class notes for my system's class, I am struck by the realization of the thought pattern underlying the difference between the common view and my view of just about everything but of OiRcs in particular.

It begins deep in the use of English. Being bilingual has its uses after all.

In English there is no easy way to describe relationships and there are no words to describe them. Thus A<->B becomes two sentences:

• A relates to B, and

• B is related to A.

The very words used to describe the relationships are terms like 'has,' 'owns' and 'is a member of,' 'belongs to' and so on. There is no terms in there for 'under what circumstance' and no description of cardinality, mutability and optionality.

And therein lies the problem.

Apart from the awkward switch in tenses depending on the direction one is looking (A to B or B to A) and the generally undescriptive term used to describe the relationship, the relationship is not described first. Instead it is a verb sandwiched between two mouns and it needs to change tense depending on how one is looking at it.

This is wrong. Just plain wrong.

I propose that the relationship be instead described by a noun, not a verb.
Thus A 'owns' B becomes 'has a' relates one A and many B.

Since 'has a' is not an appropriate lin guistic term, it needs to be replaced by some meaning forl word, usually this will be a noun.

Thus Library has Members becomes Membership relates One Library and Many Entities. (I am skipping a head of myself a bit since Entities could be described as People, and Library is a Role that an instance of Entities is playing.

Playing is itself a relationship between a Role and an Entities. This means that the same entity can a lender and a borrower be. (With apologies to Hamlet, or at least to Shakespeare.)

This brings about an interesting condition: Recursion.

Thus Membership relates One Library, which is a Role an Entity can Play, and Many Entities. Relationships can recursively relate other relationships to each other or to object instances.