Theory of Documentation

Introduction

This is an unnecessary analysis of computer information systems in which I act like I know what I'm talking about in an effort to make a much more precise documentation framework. According to my intuition the odds of complete, well thought-out models of people <-> I.T. interaction are almost of complete unity. Yet, here is a system I pulled out of my ass using terminology that I hope I individually created on my own--although more likely have heard before--and am here now to invent some ill-misconceived usage that runs angular to the historic usage.

History and Motivation

I have found that even if a system of documentation drives me personally insane--to those of whom it doesn't cause a mental state of dissociation--it still presents a significant challenge. When it comes to technical support of computer information systems, oft times people don't know what exactly they are looking for and it is at this exact instance that a precise system of arrangement with an understanding of where you are in the knowledge continuum is most necessary: Otherwise the time-consuming process of creating documentation is wasted as the knowledge isn't actually put to efficient use.

Sets, classes, families, etc. are probably the most intuitive arrangement of systems as they follow from the fundamental thinking processes of the mind. Here I have come up with an informal model, although somewhat mathematical in nature, to address and classify every piece of the system in a more precisely ordered way.

Looking at this from the point of view of typical I.T. documentation it will seem rather unnecessary and abstract at first. Bear with me--I believe the analysis will result in a much more precise system. Then we can all find divinity.

The Model

Events of Things with Associated Actions

• Our universe is the set of things, in which each element is in certain state, as well as respective associated actions (operations) on, or performed by, those things.
  
  • Each state of a thing is a separate element--That is, things with multiple states are actually multiple elements of individual things, each in their own singular, certain state.
    
  • An action can be the change of state, or the cause of a change of state.
    
  • A thing has a separate state for each associated action it performs.
    
  • Multiple things can be associated with a single action as well as multiple actions with a single thing--things and actions can have n-way associations, where n is a positive integer.
    

• An unordered pair formed of a single thing with an associated action is called an event.
  
  • A sequence formed of multiple events using the shared associations of things or actions in each preceding or following event is called a sequence of events.
    
• The set of events that occur due to being caused by another event action are called secondary events.
  
  • Secondary events can also be called autonomous events with their respective things called autonomous actors.
• A contrary set of events that do not occur as the result of other events actions, are primary events.
  
  • The respective things in these primary events are called primary actors.
    
• Primary actors are the start of every sequence of events.
  
  • With this model people are typically the primary actors.
    

The computer information systems we are dealing with can be broken down into things, actions, events, sequences and actors.

Types of Actors

By building events from things and actions we are able to identify sequences of events and thus actors within these sequences. In actuality, primary actors aren't the result of our set building but the set building is precipitated out of the need to address the literal interaction of people (the primary actors) and computer information systems, in a figurative model.

The types of actors are discerned by the role of the person causing the event. Furthermore, those sequences of events follow a classification order of which those roles follow from clear boundaries.

Functional Sequences of Events

Computer I.T. systems are put in place to serve the purposes the people. Primary actors aren't a result from the system.

Example: A person using a web browser to request a static web page from a remote server.

• There is a clear sequence of events in which the person begins as a primary actor.
• Some things in the sequence could be: the web-browser, networking protocols, and the web-server daemon.
• Some actions include changing the web-browser state to requesting a page, causing a change of state in the various protocols, which in turn causes the web server to change to the state of responding with the specific page.
• Every event except the first includes an autonomous actor
• Each event with an autonomous actor is precisely defined in that there is a clear cause and result.
  • Each individual event has the notion of mathematical functionality or is a functional event.
• The overall sequence of events also has clear cause and result.
  • Thus a mathematical notion comes into play as it is called (by me--the author who is acting knowledgeable) a functional sequence of events or just a functional sequence.

Roles of Functional Sequences

Criterion Defined

• A single event or single sequence of events in and of itself isn't really that complicated of a function since it is essentially a set of events that are either "activated" or not.
• Forming sets of events or sequences of events essentially composes a function from all the functional sequences the set contains.
  • The new function can have multiple possible starting states or actions mapped by their respective functional sequences to the ending states or actions.
• Each set of functional sequences defined by specific criterion form a role.

Example Criterion

• Sets of functional sequences or events that reach the same respective functional sequences or events
• Sets of functional sequences or events that have a purpose of creating new things and actions and thus events
• Sets of functional sequences or events that have actions on--thus selecting specific (states of) things and thus subsets formed.
• Sets of functional sequences or events that remove things and actions.

Primary Actor Procedures Within Roles of Functional Sequences

• There are super-sets of functions within roles that need to be performed in a correct sequence of actions prompting primary actors within primary events.
• Those sequences of actions lie outside of the model and are called primary actor procedures or just procedures.

Abstraction in the Model

Sets of functional sequences or events defined by specific criterion can be abstracted into a new simplified set of things with states and associated actions representing the input and output of the role and the all the functional sequences or events as a whole.

I need to spend some time studying what sort of relations from the underlying sets makes up the best abstractions (or roles).

Web Hosting Model

Roles

CPU, Ram, Disk, Network Connection, Bare-Metal, Virtual Machine, Ubuntu, IPv4, IPv6, Apache httpd, Nginx, Web Server, PHP4, PHP5, PHP-FPM, PHP, Database, SQL, MySQL, Odin, Parallels, Plesk, Hosting, Client, Server, WWW, Web Browser, User Agent, Technical Support, Systems Administration,