The language Ampersand
This chapter describes the full language Ampersand. Please use it as a reference rather than an introductory course.
Watch this clip to learn how we use the words atom, concept, and relation. Below is a list of other words with a specific meaning in Ampersand.
Word
Meaning
Example
Purpose
Pair
two atoms: a source and a target atom
("Ida",5)
to state that two atoms are related
a set of pairs that is identifyable in a context by its name and type
r[A*B]
to build true statements and store pairs persistently in an application
a constraint, which is supposed to remain satisfied.
r;s |- t
to provide meaning in a given context
satisfy
A rule is satisfied (in a context) if the data (in that context) do not cause any violation of that rule.
to calculate violations at run-time helps users do the right things
a set of rules
PATTERN
...
ENDPATTERN
to gather rules that belong together for reusing them in different contexts
Population
a set of pairs in a context
POPULATION r[A*B] CONTAINS [ ("Ida",5), ("Bob",1) ]
to represent the facts (i.e. true statements) in an information system
a population together with a set of rules that are satisfied by the population.
CONTEXT
...
ENDCONTEXT
to maintain a consistent representation of a real life situation
View
A set of pairs that can be shown to users in a particular formulation.
to represent facts
A structure meant for "the outside world" to communicate with the system and possibly change the population.
INTERFACE Request FOR Customer
to let "the outside world" communicate with the system in a given context and possibly change its population
Multiplicity
A predefined property of a relation
UNI, TOT, SUR, INJ
to constrain a relation with predefined properties
Operator
a symbol used in combining terms into other terms.
-, ~, \/, /\, -, ;, \, /, |-, =
to express more complex rules.
A rule that defines specialization between two (or more) concepts.
CLASSIFY A ISA B
To specify a building block for a classification hierarchy.
Role
A name for a group of people
ROLE Customer MAINTAINS paymentObligation
to talk about users without having any users
Syntactic definitions are given where the underlying notions (e.g. rule, relation, pattern, etc.) are discussed. The metasyntax is singled out on a separate page. Because terms are defined in relation algebra, their semantics are explained in various ways to suit the background of each individual reader. Terms are the only algebraically defined things.
This section is organized by discussing each notion in isolation. Hyperlinks are added in the text to let the reader navigate on her own. The text is suitable for reference purposes, so there is no preferred order in reading.
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