DictionaryFrames

Dictionary Frame Notation

The purpose of a Dictionary Frame is to describe the vocabulary of the task world. Dictionary items map new concepts to concepts that the Hum system already knows. The Hum system already understands terms such as: order, order item, bill-of-material, material, part, assembly, container, person, worker, employee, organization, roles, measure, metric, money, cost, price, account, resource, resource pool, inventory, and more.

The design of the dictionary notation is meant to allow people to describe terms in a natural style. The style is close to written English in this case.

Syntax:

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Dictionary:
A (name) is a (name).
("a" and "an" are interchangeable.)
(name = noun phrase)
A (name) is described by its (name), (name), (name), (name), and (name).

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Example:

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Dictionary: Coffee-Mech Facts.
. A coffee-mech is a robot.
. A coffee-mech is described by its make, model, and software-release.
. A coffee-mech is identified by its serial-number.
. JavaBot is a synonym for coffee-mech.
. SN is shorthand for serial-number.

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Dictionary: Employee Relationships.
. Relationship: Worker W is assigned mentor M.
. Relationship: Worker W works in store S. (many to many)
. Relationship: Employee E is assigned role R effective on date D.
. Relationship: Worker W is assigned to supervisor S when working in role R.
. A mentor is an employee.
. An employee is a worker. (Some workers are employees.)
. A contractor is a worker. (Some workers are contractors.)
. A worker is a person.
. A supervisor is an employee.

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Dictionary Frame Statements

• The "... is a ..." statement enables you to define a word in terms of another word that the system already knows. The nouns in an "is a" statement defines a term as referring to an entity-type (class) that is a subtype (sub-class) of a known entity-type.
• The "... is described by ..." statement identifies the attributes of an entity.
• The "... is identified by its ..." statement advises the system that an attribute's value is an identifier. (An identifier may be used in data to refer to an instance of an entity.)
• The "... is a synonym for ..." statement advises the system that the two terms might be used interchangeably.
• The "... is shorthand for ..." statement advises the system that a term may be used as a shorthand when entering new statements or data into the system.
• The ". Relationship:" instruction tells the system that a relationship exists between two or more entities. The relationship notation provides a template for "Assert:" instructions and messages that may be invoked during the running of a plan.

Acronyms, Synonyms, and Shorthand.

The dictionary accommodates acronyms with the phase: "... is shorthand for ..." Synonyms are recorded with the phrase: "... is a synonym for ..."

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Dictionary:
. QOH is shorthand for quantity-on-hand.
. Client is synonym for customer.

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Shorthand allows the programmer to substitute a short term for a longer one at the time that a statement is entered. The system immediately replaces the shorthand token with the full term.
"Smart edit" tools are expected to implement this feature.

Synonyms are used to indicate a word or phrase that can be mapped to another word or phrase which is already known to the system. When the system interprets statements, it will use synonyms to match a statement to similar statements. Synonyms allow a statements to assume two or more alternate forms.

Do not declare a synonym when you should declare a subtype.

Synonyms may be used where they conform to normal usage in the parlance of the industry or shop. Unlike a shorthand, a synonym is not replaced on input. The statement is stored in the frame base with the synonym intact. Thus, you can use synonyms when they make statements and instructions more human-readable.