DEF/structure
Similar terms and concepts
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To understand a complex object we impose structure on it: we "see" it as composed from parts (which themselves may be composed from sub-parts, and so on). Along its structure we try to understand or explain physical →things. The syntactical structure of a mathematical →formula is used to define its semantics. When we design →artefacts, we design a structure to ensure the desired purposes. A description of this structure can be used to actually make the artefact.
Structure is a subjective, conceptual idea, not an inherent →property of the object itself. When two subjects talk about an object, they often want to share structural understanding. On the other hand, different stakeholders can impose different on the same object: the same object can appear under different views.
Without further knowledge it is meaningless to look for "the" structure of a thing.
Definition
DEF/structure
The parts of which the object consists and how they are related to each other and/or interact with each other
Explanation
Relations with other concepts
Reality, and thus also →artefacts, can be seen under different views. Under each such view, a different structure can appear - and different →properties are relevant.
Structure can be →formally described by a →blueprint.
For an existing →artefact, such a →blueprint can be obtained by means of →decomposition. But decomposition is not unique.
Pragmatics
- how?
- why?
- Chinese Box Principle
- →decomposition
- causality
- analysis
- synthesis
- construction
Many different structures can be imposed on the same object, but some are better than others because they allow to understand, explain or predict properties more easily than others. The use of imposing structure is reduction of the information necessary to reason about properties.
Examples
- A "stereo tower" can be understood as consisting of the following parts, connected in a well-defined way by the right cables:
- amplifier
- tuner
- cd/dvd drive
- turntable
Open questions
Different views meet at the same reality. Where else can they meet?
This is a definition from Taxonomy of Computer Science (Hanno Wupper et al. 2008).
