Theory of Documentation

Events of Things with Associated Actions

• There exist a super-set of things, in which each element is in a certain state, as well as respective associated actions 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 have n-way associations, where n is a positive integer.
    

• A sequence 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 events action are called secondary events.
    
    • Secondary events can also be called autonomous events
  • A contrary set of events that do not occur as the result of other events actions, are primary events.
    

• The things in these primary events are called primary actors.
  
  • A thing in a state with an associated action of which there is no event with an action that causes a change to that state.
    
  • Primary actors are the start of every sequence of events (Including staged "circular" 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.