Re: Objects and Relations

The discussion is interesting. If we view that computers are only to process information, then we need to understand what is it? Most of the times, we get carried away by ways of structuring and processing data. That is where OO or RM business comes in. RM is focusing on the data, and OO on the process.

By OO view of objects, we wanted to bring in devices to our idea of computation. And these devices correspond to the real world. A big hoax, as pointed above in some example.

Fundamentally, when we have an idea of information, then the question of manipulating it with the required structures comes into the place. That can also help us organize our analysis and design methods. I think, this aspect is missing in both the camps and also by and large in our education.

Much before you read futher this mail, answer yourself, what is information to you? Mind, I am not asking "what is the information?"

Information is to do with our meaningful thoughts. Secondly, we shall be able to express them in natural language. A picture is a convenient way of communicating information. But that also means, you have identified the objects, and related them. You can also, you have different ideas through which you are seeing them. When these ideas are related, then you have your meaningful thoughts.

Meaningful thoughts or their syntactic representation, such as sentences are our information. Often these sentences are also called propositions. But true propositions are what is interesting to us. In other words, facts are interesting to us. So we are interested in how facts change in the world? How facts are created in the world. That is all about the manipulation of information?

Fundamentally I am raising the issue of the relations between natural language, thoughts and reality. We have to clealy understand that natural anguage expresses thoughts about reality. And then respect that relationship.

Because we do not respect that relationship, we notice Object Constraint language (OCL), pushing first order logic into OO thinking. This is purely a confusion or a lack of clarity about what we are trying to do. Logic is an aspect of natural language. Logic is all about connecting meaningful thoughtts / propositions.

I think, OOs problem is in inventing those devices, and extending them to fit into the big picture of information processing, and its fundamentals.

Certainly there is a big goof there. An object is a perceptive convenience to identify some facts. But you cant ignore the role facts play while bothering with too much emphasis on the objects. I have not seen OO guys respecting the existence of facts. In other words, existence of relations between facts. Well, not at the level of pointers. But respecting relations as first class entitites themselves.

Venkat

www.englishtouml.com
No UML Data Models Faster And Better Received on Sun Feb 11 2007 - 06:28:52 CET