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Glossary and Abbreviations List

TEv2 Glossary

Action​

something that is actually done (a 'unit of work' that is executed) by a single actor (on behalf of a given party), as a single operation, in a specific context.

Action​

something that is actually done (a 'unit of work' that is executed) by a single actor (on behalf of a given party), as a single operation, in a specific context.

Actor​

entity that can act (do things/execute action), e.g. people, machines, but not organization.

Author​

a person that creates a text that is meant to be read and understood by others - usually, a particular audience.

Body File​

a file that is located somewhere within the scopedir, and that contains the body of a curated text.

Notes​

Body (of a Curated Text)​

the part of a curated text that contains arbitrarily structured documentation about the semantic unit that the curated text documents.

Notes​

Community​

a party, consisting of at least two different parties (the members of the community) that seek to collaborate with each other so that each of them can achieve its individual objective more efficiently and/or effectively.

Concept​

a semantic unit that captures the ideas/thoughts behind a classification of entities (what makes entities in that class 'the same').

Notes​

Conceptualization​

a mental representation or abstract idea formed by a party to categorize, organize, and make sense of information, experiences, objects, or abstract notions; it allows the party to recognize similarities and differences between entities or events.

Contributor​

a person that contributes to the creation and maintenance of a terminology all terms of which have a definition that links these terms with a criterion that is used within the scope of that terminology for determining whether or not something is an instance (example) of the semantic unit to which the term refers.

Converter Profile​

the specification of a class of data objects, instances of which are used by specific text conversion tools to generate text fragments from.

Notes​

  • Converter profiles exist, e.g., for the TRRT and the HRGT.
  • Converter profiles are used by converters, which are (predefined or custom) handlebars templates that produce the generated text fragments.

Converter​

a specification, in the form of a handlebars template, for constructing a text that a particular text conversion tool uses to create its output.

Notes​

  • A TRRT converter constructs a text that replaces a TermRef. That text, when rendered in a static website, would typically link to the page that documents the term. Also, it may provide a popup that shows its definition.
  • A HRGT converter constructs a text that replaces an MRGRef. That text typically renders as a human readable glossary.

Corpus​

the documentation that describes the knowledge around a set of terms and concepts.

Criterion​

(aka: criteria) a text that people can evaluate to base a judgment or decision on.

Notes​

Curate​

to select, organize, and present terms, definitions, and other, related content in a thoughtful and purposeful manner to establish shared understanding among a community working together on a particular set of objectives.

Curated File​

a file that is located in the scopedir of a specific scope, and is (therefore) curated by (one of) the curators of that scope.

Curated Text File​

a file that contains either a (complete) curated text, or the header of that curated text and a reference to the file that contains its body.

Curated Text​

a text that documents a concept or other semantic unit of a particular party, and specifies, e.g., the term(s) by which the party refers thereto, its definition, and any other relevant information.

Curatedir​

a directory within a scopedir within which every file contains a curated text for that scope.

Curator (of a Scope)​

a person responsible for curating, managing, and maintaining the terminologies, to ensure shared understanding among a community working together on a particular set of objectives.

Current Scope​

the scope that is the context within which a curator is acting, or a tool is being called.

Define​

to provide a criterion and a term, where the criterion can be used by people to determine whether or not something is an instance/example of a concept (or other semantic unit), and the term is used to refer to that concept, or an arbitrary instance thereof.

Definition​

the combination of a term and a descriptive text, where the term refers to a concept or other semantic unit, and the descriptive text enables a set of parties to have the same understanding about that concept. Ideally, the descriptive text is a criterion that such parties can use to determine what is, and what is not, an instance (or example) of that concept.

Definition Pattern​

a mental model that describes the relations between a concept (or any other semantic unit), the term(s) that are used to refer to it, and the criteria to use for determining whether or not something is an instance (example) of that semantic unit.

Dictionary​

an alphabetically sorted list of terms with various meanings that they may have in different contexts.

Entity​

someone or something that is known to exist.

Macro Map​

See: Form Phrase Macro Map

Form Phrase Macro Map​

a list of form phrase macros that the MRGT will use to expand form phrases as specified for curated texts into form phrases as specified for MRGs.

Notes​

  • Form-phrase macro maps can be specified in the scope section of a SAF
  • Form-phrase macro maps can be specified in (the mrgt section) of a configuration file that is used when calling the MRGT.

Form Phrase Macro​

a sequence of characters (the macro name) that identifies a sequence (map) of character strings that specify typical variations of a form phrase, such as plural forms, possessie extensions, verb-conjugation forms, etc.

Form Phrase (for a Semantic Unit)​

a word or phrase that refers to a particular semantic unit, yet is not (necessarily) the term that is used in the definition of that semantic unit. Form phrases can be, e.g., plural forms, possessive extensions, verb-conjugation forms, abbreviations, and other variations.

Notes​

Formatted Text​

a text that has been processed and arranged to have a specific layout, style, and presentation, making it visually appealing and easy to read.

Front Matter​

a section at the top of a file that contains YAML (or similarly formatted) metadata, such as title, description, tags, and more.

Notes​

  • Front matter is also commonly used by various static site generators (not just by TEv2).
  • The front-matter must be the first thing in the file and must be enclosed in triple-dashed lines for YAML.

Glossary​

an alphabetically sorted list of terms with the (single) meaning it has in (at least) one context.

Glossarydir​

a directory within a scopedir within which the different versions of its (machine readable and human readable) glossaries are created and maintained.

Glossary Term​

a human readable text that will be used as the term in a definition as presented in a HRG.

Notes​

Glossary Text​

a human readable text that will be used as the definition for a particular term, as presented in a HRG.

Notes​

Grouptag​

a tag that is used to group terms within a specific scope.

Handlebars Helper Function​

a function that can be used in a handlebars expression to manipulate or format the data before displaying it within a template.

Notes​

  • A handlebars helper can be used, e.g., to add a personal touch to the way information is presented, making it possible to tailor the output to fit specific needs or preferences.

Handlebars Object​

a data object, that serves as the source of (context dependent) data from which a text is produced according to the specifications of a Handlebars template.

Notes​

Handlebars Template​

a blueprint/template that uses the Handlebars language to define where and how variable information can be inserted into a predetermined text structure.

Notes​

  • TEv2 converters are Handlebars templates.
  • Handlebars templates (converters) allow for the creation of customizable texts that automatically update with specific data.
  • Handlebars templates (converters) are characterized by their use of Handlebars expressions within the templates.

Header (of a Curated Text)​

the part of a curated text, which is at the beginning of that text, that starts with a line that (only) contains three subsequent '-'characters, and that ends with a second occurrence of such a line.

Notes​

HRD​

See: Human Readable Dictionary

Human Readable Dictionary​

a dictionary that presents terms and their meanings in a format that is easily understandable and accessible to humans, typically organized alphabetically.

HRDT​

See: Human Readable Dictionary Tool

Human Readable Dictionary Tool​

a software tool designed to create, manage, and process Human Readable Dictionaries (HRDs).

HRG Entry​

A specific kind of (human-readable) rendering of the combination of a term and a means that helps readers to understand the meaning of that term when it is used in a sentence.

HRG List​

a list of alphabetically sorted HRG entries that can be further processed by tools such as the TRRT, as well as rendering tools such as GitHub pages, Docusaurus, etc.

HRG​

See: Human Readable Glossary

Human Readable Glossary​

a glossary that is designed to be easily understandable and accessible to humans. HRGs present terms and their meanings in a format that prioritizes human comprehension and may include additional contextual information to aid understanding.

HRGT​

See: Human Readable Glossary Tool

Human Readable Glossary Tool​

a software tool designed to create, manage, and process Human Readable Glossaries (HRGs), as specified by TEv2. HRGTs offer features for selecting terms that are curated within the scope it is run in, or from other scopes.

ICT​

See: Integrity Checker Tool

Integrity Checker Tool​

a software tool designed to check the integrity and conformity of various files used in the curation and management of glossaries, dictionaries, curated texts, and other data within a terminology project. The ICT verifies that the files adhere to the TEv2 file specifications, ensuring the consistency and accuracy of the terminology data.

Ingestion (Process)​

the process that is run by a terms-community, in which their members suggest, draft, and discuss definitions (terms + criteria) that are relevant for a particular scope, and converting such contributions into curated texts that accurately document the concepts and other semantic units and that adhere to the TEv2-specifications.

Interpreter Profile​

the set of named capturing groups that are an interpreter is expected to populate when it is used in the context of a specific TEv2 tool (such as the TRRT or HRGT).

Interpreter​

a regex that is used to locate a particular text construct (such as a TermRef or MRGRef) in a text, and that populates named capturing groups as specified in the interpreter profile of the particular text conversion tool for which it is designed.

an entity that is known by, recognized to exist, and registered in that jurisdiction.

Mental Model​

a semantic unit that relates a set of concepts (ideas), relations between them, and constraints about a certain topic, into a coherent and consistent whole (sometimes called 'viewpoint', or 'way of thinking').

Moustache Variable​

a placeholder in the form of a 'moustache' tag, e.g.: {{variable_name}}, that are used by converters to produce a text by which a text construct that is located by an interpreter will be replaced. See also https://mustache.github.io/mustache.5.html

MRD​

See: Machine Readable Dictionary

Machine Readable Dictionary​

a type of dictionary that is formatted in a way that can be easily processed and interpreted by computers or software programs. It uses the YAML format to represent the terms and their meanings.

MRDT​

See: Machine Readable Dictionary Tool

Machine Readable Dictionary Tool​

a software tool designed to create, manage, and process Machine Readable Dictionaries (MRDs).

MRG Entry​

A machine-readable (and interpretable) artifact that contains (pointers to) data and meta-data about a particular semantic unit, such as the associated term(s), its definition, etc., to make it easy for IT-tools to create, e.g. documentation, glossaries, dictionaries, whitepapers, etc. that uses such terms (definitions, etc.).

MRG Import (Tool)​

is a tool in the TEv2 toolbox that is run within a particular scope for the purpose of obtaining MRGs from other scopes, as specified in the scope's SAF, and putting them in the scope's glossarydir.

MRGRef​

a text that is marked up (in a specific way) so that it refers to a particular terminology, as well as to a specific way for creating an associated HRG.

MRG​

See: Machine Readable Glossary

Machine Readable Glossary​

a glossary for a particular (version of a) terminology that is formatted in YAML, according to the TEv2 MRG specifications, to enable automated processing and integration with software systems.

MRGT​

See: Machine Readable Glossary Tool

Machine Readable Glossary Tool​

a software tool designed to create, manage, and process Machine Readable Glossaries (MRGs), as specified by TEv2.

Notes​

Named Capturing Group​

a sub-pattern within a regex (called a 'capturing group') that has been given a name, allowing one to refer to that sub-pattern.

the (name of the field in the scope-section of a SAF that contains the) path to the directory where curated texts are rendered.

Notes​

Organization​

a party that is capable of setting objective and making sure these are realized by actor that it has onboarded and/or by (vetted) parties that are committed to contribute to these objective.

Party​

an entity that sets its objective, maintains its knowledge, and uses that knowledge to pursue its objective in an autonomous (sovereign) manner. Humans and organization are the typical examples.

Property (of a Concept)​

a connection or association between a concept and a primitive data element, such as a text or a number, that represents some characteristic that instances of the concept may have.

Provisional MRG Entry​

an MRG entry that is part of a provisional MRG (under construction); it contains 'raw' data that documents (the semantic unit referred to by) a term, that is obtained either from (the header of) a curated text, or from an MRG entry of some existing MRG.

Provisional MRG​

a set of provisional MRG entries, to which such entries can be added, removed or modified, as specified by term selection instructions, and that are ultimately further processed to result in a proper MRG.

Reader​

a person that reads a text that is authored by another person (its author), and that tries to understand the meaning of this text in the way its author intended.

Regex​

See: Regular Expression

Regular Expression​

a sequence of characters that specifies a text pattern that can be searched for within other, larger texts, for the purpose of, e.g., replacing the text pattern with some other text.

Notes​

Regularized Form Phrase​

a regularized text that is derived from, and represents a form phrase. They typically appear in the formPhrases field of an MRG entry.

Regularized Text​

a character string that starts with a lowercase character ([a-z]), and has subsequent characters that match regex [a-z_0-9-], and doesn't end with a - character.

Notes​

  • In other words, every text that matches the regex ^[a-z][a-z_0-9-]*(?<=[^-])$ is a regularized text.

Relation (between Concepts)​

a (significant) connection or association between two or more concepts.

Notes​

  • These connections define the way these concepts are interrelated, providing insights into how they interact and influence each other.

Renderable Ref​

a text with which the TRRT replaces a TermRef, that can be processed by specific third party rendering tools, the result of which is a rendering of the original TermRef that has additional characteristics that help readers to (better) understand the intention of its author.

SAF​

See: Scope Administration File

Scope Administration File​

a YAML file that contains essential data about a particular scope (e.g., specifying where its curated texts, glossaries etc. live), the relationships this scope has with other scopes, and the specifications of the different terminologies that are curated within that scope. The SAF of a scope is located in its scopedir.

Scope​

the extent of the terms, definitions and other documentation that a community (or party, which we call the owner of the scope) needs to express, communicate and validate its knowledge as relevant to achieving a specific subset of its objectives.

Scoped Term​

a term that represents (and identifies) a specific semantic unit of a particular community (or party).

Scopedir​

a directory in a computer file system that contains all files that are either being curated within a particular scope, or generated to serve some purpose within that scope.

Scopetag​

a tag that is used to identify scopes from within a specific scope

Semantic Unit​

a basic building block of meaning or representation that exists within the 'mind' of a party (i.e., in its knowledge).

Notes​

Semantics​

a mapping between the (tangible/textual) terms and (intangible) ideas/concepts - their meaning.

Sorter​

a specification, in the form of a predefined value or a handlebars template, of the value that is to be used for sorting a list, e.g., for sorting HRG entries within a HRG list.

Synonym (of a term)​

a term that has the same (or sufficiently similar) meaning as another term (i.e., the term of which it is a synonym.

Tag​

an alphanumeric string that is used to identify scopes (so called 'scopetags'), group terms (so called 'grouptags'), or identify a specific version of a terminology (so called 'versiontags') from within a specific scope.

Term Identifier​

a text, of the form <termid>@<terminology-identifier>, that is used for identifying a semantic unit within a designated terminology.

Notes​

  • If @<terminology-identifier> is omitted, the current (or default) terminology is assumed.

TermRef​

a word or phrase that is marked up (in a specific way) so that it refers to a particular concept (or other semantic unit), enabling it to be rendered in a variety of ways for the purpose of helping readers to (better) understand the intention of its author.

Term Selection Instruction​

an instruction that is used to select one or more terms for the purpose of processing their documentation, e.g., to create an MRG.

Term Type​

a (regularized) text that identifies a particular kind of semantic unit within a particular scope. Examples include concept, relation, pattern (or mental-model).

Term​

a word or phrase (i.e.: text) that is used to represent concepts.

Notes​

  • a term is ambiguous if it represents more than one concept.
  • a term that is used in a particular scope (which we call a scoped term) should not be ambiguous.
  • a term that is unambiguous can be made part of a definition by associating it with a criterion that people can use to determine what is, and what is not, an instance (or: example) of that term.
  • the contents of term fields in headers or MRG entries are expected to be regularized texts.

Termid​

a text of the form <termType>:<term> that serves as an unambiguous identifier for a specific semantic unit in some given scope.

Terminology Identifier​

a text, of the form <scopetag>:<vsntag>, that identifies a terminology from within a particular scope, and can also be used to find the MRG file (in the glossarydir of that same scope) that contains entries for every term contained in that terminology.

Notes​

  • If <scopetag> and/or :<vsntag> is omitted, their values are taken be the current (or default) ones.

Terminology Process​

a method for recognizing misunderstandings as such, and creating or maintaining definitions that resolve them.

Terminology​

a set of terms that are used within a single scope to refer to concepts and other semantic units of a single party (e.g. a community), enabling parties to reason and communicate ideas they have about one or more specific topics.

Terminology Pattern​

a mental model that describes the relations between a community, its (intangible) knowledge, and the artifacts we use to document that knowledge, such as terms, definitions, mental models, glossaries, etc.

Terms Community​

a community that maintains a terminology for the purpose of avoiding misunderstandings between its members as they collaborate.

TEv2 Configuration File​

a file that specifies parameters that TEv2 tools is expected to use when that file is specified when the tool is called.

TEv2 Text Conversion Tool​

a TEv2 tool whose purpose is to convert particular text constructs (such as TermRefs or MRGRefs) that exist in one or more files with other texts, the contents of which consists of some fixed construct that is populated with elements derived from existing text constructs and/or other resources.

TEv2 Toolbox​

the collection of tools designed to support and facilitate the process of terminology management following the TEv2 specifications.

Notes​

  • These tools assist curators in various tasks related to the curation, creation, and maintenance of terminological assets.

TEv2 Tool​

any software application or utility designed to support and streamline various tasks related to terminology management following the TEv2 specifications.

TEv2​

a set of specifications and tools that caters for the curation of terminologies, as well as for its subsequent use in publications of different types (e.g. websites, whitepapers) and formats (e.g. html, LaTeX), as appropriate for different, individual scopes.

TRRT​

See: TermRef Rendering Tool

TermRef Rendering Tool​

a TEv2 tool that is designed to facilitate the visualization and rendering of TermRefs.

Use-Case​

a semantic unit that captures a specific situation or example used to illustrate how a mental model (or other semantic units) can be used.

Versiontag​

a tag that is used to identify a specific version of a terminology from within a specific scope.

Vocabulary​

the sum or stock of words employed by a language, group, individual, or work or in a field of knowledge.

Writer​

a person that creates a text that is meant to be read and understood by others - usually, a particular audience.