system

IRI: https://spec.industrialontologies.org/ontology/construct/System

Defined In: https://spec.industrialontologies.org/ontology/core/Core/

SubClass Of: bfo:object aggregate

Class Hierarchy

owl:Thing › bfo:entity › bfo:continuant › bfo:independent continuant › bfo:material entity › bfo:object aggregate › system

Direct subclasses:

Definition

collection of elements (object aggregate) that form a unified whole and interact

Explanatory Notes

  1. As introduced here, the term is limited to natural, social and technical systems that are tangible and whose “elements” are also tangible.

  2. Frequently, the elements comprising a system are instances of BFO: object. However, the system elements may also include object aggregates (e.g., a system of systems; a system that includes a production line consisting of humans, machines, and other equipment)

  3. Although the system is asserted under BFO: object aggregate, which is constrained to have only material entities (tangible things) as elements, the approach to modeling systems comprised of both software and hardware (also known as a cyber-physical system) can still be modeled indirectly: by introducing a ‘generically depends on’ relationship between the software or other intangible elements (information content entity types) and its physical bearer (hardware or hardware system), which are in turn members of the system.

Examples

  • solar system, digestive system, forest ecosystem, hydraulic system, subway system, social system, technical system, natural system

Adapted From

  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary for term under the same name.

Primitive Class

This class is declared primitive and it does not have necessary and sufficient condiftions defined.

Primitive Rationale

The term is introduced here as a general class to allow the introduction of specialized kinds of systems that appear in particular modalities. Furthermore, an effort remains to formalize what it means for two things to interact, or what it means to regularly interact.

Formal Axioms

First-Order Logic Axioms 

System(x) → ObjectAggregate(x)

Semi-Formal Natural Language Axioms

if x is a ‘system’ then x is an ‘object aggregate’

Description Logic

constr:System ⊑ bfo:object_aggregate

SubClassOf: bfo:object_aggregate