Ontology

Overview / Open Energy Ontology / Class - directive information entity

Label: directive information entity

Definition:

An information content entity whose concretizations indicate to their bearer how to realize them in a process.

Editor note:

2009-03-16: provenance: a term realizable information entity was proposed for OBI (OBI_0000337) , edited by the PlanAndPlannedProcess branch. Original definition was "is the specification of a process that can be concretized and realized by an actor" with alternative term "instruction".It has been subsequently moved to IAO where the objective for which the original term was defined was satisfied with the definitionof this, different, term.

Editor note:

2013-05-30 Alan Ruttenberg: What differentiates a directive information entity from an information concretization is that it can have concretizations that are either qualities or realizable entities. The concretizations that are realizable entities are created when an individual chooses to take up the direction, i.e. has the intention to (try to) realize it.

Editor note:

8/6/2009 Alan Ruttenberg: Changed label from "information entity about a realizable" after discussions at ICBO

Editor note:

Werner pushed back on calling it realizable information entity as it isn't realizable. However this name isn't right either. An example would be a recipe. The realizable entity would be a plan, but the information entity isn't about the plan, it, once concretized, *is* the plan. -Alan

Sub classes:

action specification

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Definition:

A directive information entity that describes an action the bearer will take.

data format specification

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Definition:

A data format specification is the information content borne by the document published defining the specification. Example: The ISO document specifying what encompasses an XML document; The instructions in a XSD file

Editor note:

2009-03-16: provenance: term imported from OBI_0000187, which had original definition "A data format specification is a plan which organizes information. Example: The ISO document specifying what encompasses an XML document; The instructions in a XSD file"

objective specification

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Definition:

A directive information entity that describes an intended process endpoint. When part of a plan specification the concretization is realized in a planned process in which the bearer tries to effect the world so that the process endpoint is achieved.

Editor note:

2009-03-16: original definition when imported from OBI read: "objective is an non realizable information entity which can serve as that proper part of a plan towards which the realization of the plan is directed."

Editor note:

2014-03-31: In the example of usage ("In the protocol of a ChIP assay the objective specification says to identify protein and DNA interaction") there is a protocol which is the ChIP assay protocol. In addition to being concretized on paper, the protocol can be concretized as a realizable entity, such as a plan that inheres in a person. The objective specification is the part that says that some protein and DNA interactions are identified. This is a specification of a process endpoint: the boundary in the process before which they are not identified and after which they are. During the realization of the plan, the goal is to get to the point of having the interactions, and participants in the realization of the plan try to do that.

Editor note:

Answers the question, why did you do this experiment?

plan specification

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Definition:

A directive information entity with action specifications and objective specifications as parts, and that may be concretized as a realizable entity that, if realized, is realized in a process in which the bearer tries to achieve the objectives by taking the actions specified.

Editor note:

2009-03-16: provenance: a term a plan was proposed for OBI (OBI_0000344) , edited by the PlanAndPlannedProcess branch. Original definition was " a plan is a specification of a process that is realized by an actor to achieve the objective specified as part of the plan". It has been subsequently moved to IAO where the objective for which the original term was defined was satisfied with the definitionof this, different, term.

Editor note:

2014-03-31: A plan specification can have other parts, such as conditional specifications.

Editor note:

2022-01-16 Updated definition to that proposed by Clint Dowloand, IAO Issue 231.

Editor note:

Alternative previous definition: a plan is a set of instructions that specify how an objective should be achieved

Back to the super classes:

information content entity

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Definition:

A generically dependent continuant that is about some thing.

Editor note:

2014-03-10: The use of "thing" is intended to be general enough to include universals and configurations (see https://groups.google.com/d/msg/information-ontology/GBxvYZCk1oc/-L6B5fSBBTQJ).

Editor note:

information_content_entity 'is_encoded_in' some digital_entity in obi before split (040907). information_content_entity 'is_encoded_in' some physical_document in obi before split (040907). Previous. An information content entity is a non-realizable information entity that 'is encoded in' some digital or physical entity.