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Scope

Short Description​

A scope (in the eSSIFLab context) is the extent of the area or subject matter (as in OED. We use it, e.g., to define patterns, concepts, terms and glossaries in, but a scope may serve other (additional) purposes. Scopes may overlap, or be nested. It is comparable to Namespaces, were it not that entities other than names (signs that are used to identify/refer to objects of various kinds) can reside in a scope as it is defined here.

The terminology pattern provides an overview of how this concept fits in with related concepts.

Purpose​

This allows each term (words, phrases) to be used in a limited scope, for specific purposes. The fact that terms are 'scoped' implies that a term may have different meanings, depending on the scope within which it is used. Also, it allows us to author documentation in a 'scoped' fashion, allowing different groups of people to author, use and disseminate their documentation (including documentation about their ideas (patterns), concepts, and terms.)

Criteria​

a (virtual) demarcation that serves particular purposes.

Notes​

  • Scopes within which a certain concept is known, may still use different terms to refer to the concept. That's the reason for having definitions that specify criteria for determining whether or not something qualifies as (an instance of) some concept: we cannot rely on different scopes necessarily using the same terms for that.