Types of Associations

NEs can be linked together in a variety of ways. First, they can stand in a tree-structure type relation, in which one NE concerns a more general topic and the other concerns a more specific sub-topic within the general topic. For example, information about mammals is more general than information about horses, since horses form a specific subset of mammals. In the DNE, tree-structure type relations are managed in the cabinet. The defining characteristic of a tree-structure is that everything in the tree can only have one "more general" topic directly above it but may have many "more specific" sub-topics below it. For more information on how trees are used in the DNE, please refer to the support documentation on the cabinet.

Second, they can stand in an affinity relation. In any affinity relation, anything can be related to anything else. Most hyperlinks, for instance on the web, represent affinities. The NE has a special area, called the affinity area, for managing affinities. Some affinity relations are provisional, allowing you to record an unclear or obscure contribution relation without risking an error with regard to the exact nature of the relation. Some affinities are genuine, reflecting a relation that doesn't sit comfortably in the contribution paradigm. Ontologies and data models are examples of affinity relations.

Third, they can stand in contribution relations. A contribution relation combines the directionality of the tree-structure with the flexibility of the affinity structure: anything can contribute to anything else, but contribution is directional - something contributes to something else. The NE has two special areas, called the contribution wings, for managing contributions. If the active NE receives contributions by something, than that something is located in the left wing, while anything that the active NE contributes to is located in the right wing. Object models whose purpose is to trace impact relations are built using contribution relations.

The DNE is designed so that you can manage your knowledge using any combination of trees, affinities and contributions, depending on what you want to do.

All associations are documented in the association areas or each NE.