Tuesday 23 October 2007

On modelling

We shall soon publish here and in other places a compilation of examples in scribble (an updated version). But a recent news I wish to report is that I am learning aboug modelling in UML sense in practice --- from David's writings and from ongoing discussions in WG4 (I am lucky I could listen to the first-rate modelling experts and domain experts engaged in actual modelling through conversations).

As an interim report I found that the modelling is about articulation of such things as:
  • cardinality (n-m relationships)
  • part-of relationship
  • subtype relationship
.... all these kinds of relationships among entities. And by stipulating these relationships it is defining basic ontology of software to be made, or of messages to be exchanged.

So a modelling defines existence. That is why naming is so important in this endeavour.

This gives us the following observation, apart from my interest in Scribble: this level of "basic-ness" is needed if we are to introduce specification of interactional behaviour at the core of the modelling framework. I mean, at the same level as class models and associated diagrams.

This new element should be, if to be introduced, for defining the basic ontology of behaviour.

In other words and more concretely, I want the kind of technical discussions currently being carried out in WG4, or (in case you are not there) that standard modelling steps when we build entities and their relationships one by one, to be done at the level of interaction behaviours --- about the rules of exchange of messages.

Of course through the current discussions I am now concious of the challenging nature of the ontology of messages themselves, which is already new to the world of modelling --- and my (perhaps not too short) experience in the world of theory can easily let me see the value of having true experts in such technical works --- since they know the most important thing is to start from basics and to have a lucid understanding of it, gradually one by one: what a pleasure to see this unfolding in real-time!

So --- albeit, or all the more because of, my personal interest coming from scribble --- I will for the time focus on the understanding of ontology of messages by listening to these conversations. Why not, this is most exciting, I am learning a new attitude to the understanding of computation.