Author:
Iaakov Exman
Affiliation:
Software Engineering Dept., The Jerusalem College of Engineering - Azrieli, Jerusalem, Israel
Keyword(s):
Knowledge Discovery, Concepts, Natural Language, Conceptual Integrity, Software Concepts’ Catalog, Software Systems Theory.
Abstract:
In recent times it has been recognized that Concepts play a central role within Software. This has been expressed by Fred Brooks’ idea that “Conceptual Integrity is the most important consideration for software system design”. However, concepts as human natural language words with assigned meaning by the Concepts’ relationships, evolve under continual dynamics of concepts discovery. This language dynamics has consequences that cannot be ignored. This paper illustrates concepts discovery within design patterns, up to very large-scale systems, highlighting intrinsic shortcomings of Concepts’ semantics as a solid basis for Software Conceptual Integrity. Paradoxically, these shortcomings are the consequence of the very creative process of Concepts Discovery from existing knowledge. Finally, one arrives at the paper’s main results: the absolute Software Concepts freedom of choice, typical of natural languages, implies the impossibility to assure a finite Software Concepts catalog. One fin
ds oneself in an unending pursue of additional concepts to achieve some kind of Integrity or completeness. Even deliberate finite catalogs cannot be definitive. But there is no reason for despair. Finite Software Concepts’ catalogs, despite not definitive, are still very useful.
(More)