Object Groups
Handling of properties from
multiple objects
A Simple Example
Jack and Jill went up the hill...
Jack and Jill form an ObjectGroup - a way
of combining objects so the combination
can be spoken about, while the properties
of the elements are also accessible
Object Groups
Many sentences have multiple alternatives,
as the writer attempts to cover all bases.
All expressed and implied conditions, warranties and other
liabilities arising under common law or statute are expressly
excluded to the extent permitted by law.
Here there are three object groups
• expressed and implied
• conditions, warranties, liabilities
• common law or statute
generating a total of twelve ways of threading
the sentence.
A Spindle of Threads
Even in this simple example, it would be tedious
to unwind every possible thread and build
structure accordingly.
Instead, the different objectgroups become
objects with the properties of the objects they
contain, so each pathway is open to searching.
ObjectGroup as Object
The ObjectGroup makes the properties of the
objects it groups available, so the ObjectGroup
itself can head a relation.
...have been stored, installed, maintained and used...
Stored,
Installed,
Maintained
and Used
And
Logical
RELATION
Unknown
Items
Stored
Used
Installed
In this way, expansion of every possibility becomes
unnecessary. The type of group (and, or, and/or)
determines what properties are available.
Distributing Properties
All expressed and implied conditions,...
and liabilities arising under common law
Properties asserted before the first object in the group,
or after the last object in the group, distribute over the
members of the group unless they would cause error,
whereas properties declared on individual members
within the group do not distribute (the “common” of
common law does not distribute over statute - it was
caught as a collocation).
ObjectGroup Concept
ObjectGroups make it much easier to clean up
tangled prepositional chains, where a
conjunction is embedded in the chain and may
refer to any object to its left.
They also make it easier to handle the case
where the writer is “tiling the plane” - trying to
include every possibility by using many words
to describe the same thing. The ObjectGroup
then simultaneously emits all the properties of
the objects it includes - what was intended.