Term "Configuration"

[Massimo Dentico]

This shows that I'm really bad at guessing. So this time I will ask.

On Sat, 12 Apr 2003 14:42:27 -0700 (PDT), Brian T Rice <water@tunes.org>
wrote:

> To rephrase: there appears to be a concept more general than both  the
> collection notion and the notion of an expression term-tree, [..]

This is exactly what I didn't understand: collections regards objects in
general;  terms  regards  syntactic  objects,  if  you  not  imply their
denotations. It was a "mixing apples and orages" effect.

Thus  was clear  that I  was missing  something. From  that springs  the
expedient: syntactic objects -> denotations -> collection of objects via
intentional definition.


> [..] and that this concept seems to encompass both of them.

Now,  just  to  be  sure:  are you  saying  that  we  can  use the  word
"configuration" to refer to both  collections of objects in general  and
collections   of   syntactic   objects   (terms   in   expressions)  and
relationships which hold over them?


> Since you don't  quote the explanation  of "configuration" earlier,  I
> will assume that this is understood well enough.

Apparently is so.


> > Expressions are always relationships/constraints between objects and
> > calling some of these expressions "configurations" seems  arbitrary.
> > Nothing wrong with this,  but what are precisely  the distinguishing
> > features of these configurations wrt other expressions?

> No, /all/  expressions are  configurations when  viewed as term-trees,
> not just some of them.

Ok, now is clear and /a posteriori/ absolutely consequential.


> Configurations which are /not/ term trees are merely those  describing
> actual relationships between objects which have no /direct/ origin  in
> the form of expressions.

Thus configurations can also deal with objects /external/ to the  system
(intended as linguistic framework)?  Or: objects which have  no /direct/
origin in  the form  of expressions  are objects  which "enter" into the
system via interactions with the outside (I/O), right?

Better to stop here and wait your feedback.

Regards.
--
Massimo Dentico