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Similar terms and concepts
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Formal Methods are applied in the world of mathematics, but they always aim at the understanding, construction, or verification of something in physical reality. We have to distinguish carefully between these two worlds and reserve the term "artefact" for physical, not mathematical, objects. A watch is an artefact and so is a computer, which consists of hardware parts and software in the form of executable programs in its memory. But in our view a →formula formula or a computer program on paper is not an artefact but a mathematical object. One’s interest in abstract entities like programs must ultimately stem from one’s wish to make a computer plus program have properties such that a certain goal is achieved.
Definition
DEF/artefact
An object in physical reality that has been or shall be intentionally constructed from certain parts for some well-defined purpose, viz. to have certain →properties.
Explanation
Relations with other concepts
An artefact is a realisation of a →blueprint if its →structure is that defined by the →blueprint.
An artefact is an implementation of a →specification if it has all the →properties specified specified by the →specification.
Pragmatics
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Examples
- a mechanical adder
- an electronic pocket calculator
- an electric shaver including a programmable computer
- the network of money machines of a bank
Nowadays, many machines constructed for a certain purpose consist of two parts: a universal programmable machine (the "hardware" of a computer together with the "software" of its operating system) and a "program" for the special purpose.
Strictly speaking, the electronic representation of the machine program in the computer is an artefact, while the corresponding string of zeroes and ones is a mathematical object. Therefore, software engineers find the difference between physical an mathematical objects neglegible. This can be a cause of confusion when programs are "embeded" in physical machines.
Open questions
In how far can the achievements of Computer Science be applied to organisations where some of the functions are performed by humans rather than machines?
This is a definition from Taxonomy of Computer Science (Hanno Wupper et al. 2008).
