DOYLC

If we look at a data model, is a definition of an entity type automatically produced by listing the attributes of the entity type?  If this were true then a data modeler would not need to produce entity definitions - he or she would simply need to identify and list a sufficient number of attributes.  I have actually heard data modelers being criticized by terminologists for doing just this.  The extent to which such criticism is fair or not is a separate discussion, but the question remains as to whether a list of attributes can suffice as a definition. I do not think that a list of attributes is sufficient based on the recent discussions about concept systems in this blog.  No concept exists in isolation.  Every concept exists in some kind of concept system where it has relationships to other concepts.  At least some of these relationships and/or related concepts have to enter into a definition so that the concept being defined can be located properly in a...

Dave Hay commented on my post How Many Attributes Do I Have?   Dave notes that there is a difference between me and the roles that I play.  This is an important point that I struggled with previously.  Dave states "most of the examples are attributes of my role as a customer", meaning the examples I provided in my post. "Role" is a term that gets bandied around a lot in data modeling.  In my previous post on Role vs. Relationship I argued that roles really refer to certain kinds of relationships.  However, Dave's point is one that I have heard on a lot of occasions and has to be taken seriously. Let's state the question this way: is the attribute Customer Lifetime Value to Hardbitten Liquors an attribute of me, or an attribute of my role as a customer of Hardbitten Liquors?  And if the latter, just what do we mean by "role". There is no doubt that I am an instance of a concept.  The concept is human being.  Further, Customer Lifetime Value to Har...