[sc34wg3] RM comment: parid2110 (and 2122, 2125, 2264, 2155, 2158, etc.)

[Mason, James David (MXM)]

I find the phrase "a connectedness" to be in some language other than
English.

Such "ness" words do not take an indefinite article. They generally don't
take an article at all, or they are used in constructions like "the goodness
of chocolate". 

Do you mean "the state of being connected" (which I suppose would be the
normal meaning of the word) or "that which connects two things"? In other
words, is an arc a condition of being connected, or is it the connector?

In 2264 it is said that "'connectedness' . . . denotes the significance of
an arc". That seems contrary to 2110, which talks about a "connectedness"
being "between two different nodes". Is it the connection or the meaning of
the connection? I would think that the meaning would have to do with the
type or type name attached to the connection, not the existence of a
connection or the generic thing being used to create it.

Computing, particularly Topic Maps, is strange enough without abusing the
language. Let's not make up strange usages. Either say "connection" (or some
other such noun), or define "arc" well in 2110 and then in all the other
places just say "arc" rather than "a connectedness between two nodes" (2122)
or "a connectedness or two nodes" (2125). (And while I contend that
prepositions have no intrinsic meaning, particularly in translation between
languages, it would help to have consistent use of them in successive
definitions if you persist in the "connectedness" thing.)

Jim Mason