{ "model": { "rank": 6329, "code": "thing-q118155", "model_id": "vr.tr.pointer", "name": "pointer", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a pointer, assess whether it still identifies its intended target, and decide whether it may be followed, shared, updated or retired.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Information and virtual systems", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "INF", "domain": "INF.MED", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q118155/", "tier": 2, "score": 61, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "dangling pointer", "smart pointer", "function pointer", "Far pointer", "hazard pointer", "Locks-and-keys", "opaque pointer", "stale pointer bug" ], "aliasCount": 8, "merged": 8, "knownIn": 61, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": null, "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q118155", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q118155", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-07T13:50:28Z", "providers": [ "Codex", "Grok" ], "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "usd": 0.00717944, "turns": 1, "seconds": 53.8, "error": null }, "codex": { "seconds": 72.7, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.3\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a07c20-f2df-7b12-8711-16769dc75bf6\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: pointer\nRegistry id: vr.tr.pointer\nPlane / domain: INF / INF.MED\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (none)\n\nA Vercy m" } } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q118155", "registryId": "vr.tr.pointer", "name": "pointer", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "INF.MED" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q118155/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.pointer", "name": "pointer", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a pointer, assess whether it still identifies its intended target, and decide whether it may be followed, shared, updated or retired.", "definition": "A pointer is a typed reference to a storage location (an address or handle) used by a program or data structure to locate another object without embedding that object.", "scope_statement": "Provisionally interpret pointer in INF / INF.MED as an information-bearing reference that directs an interpreter to a target without containing that target; this model owns the reference, its interpretation context, its target binding and the conditions for using it.", "in_scope": [ "The pointer's recorded expression and reference mechanism", "The target or target fragment it is intended to identify", "The namespace, base or contextual anchor required to interpret it", "Resolution behaviour and evidence of successful or failed targeting", "Changes to the pointer's binding and conditions for following or disclosing it" ], "out_of_scope": [ "The target's substantive content, quality and lifecycle except where these affect the reference", "Documents, messages and interfaces that contain pointers", "The implementation and operation of resolver services", "Physical pointing devices and graphical cursor controls", "Programming-language memory pointers and their allocation semantics, pending confirmation of registry intent" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "A pointer has a referential role: an interpreter can use it to identify or locate something beyond the pointer's own expression.", "A copy or embedded representation supplies target content; a pointer supplies a means of referring to that content.", "A label merely names or describes something unless a convention or context makes it usable as a reference.", "A search expression requests matching candidates; a pointer purports to designate a target, even when resolution fails or returns several candidates.", "A hyperlink combines a reference with an activation mechanism; a pointer may exist without a clickable interface." ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Reference mechanism", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Locator-based, identifier-based, position-based, context-dependent, other or unresolved", "why_it_matters": "Determines what an interpreter must know to identify the target." }, { "name": "Pointer expression", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Recorded reference expression, including significant syntax", "why_it_matters": "Allows an agent to inspect the actual reference and detect consequential edits." }, { "name": "Interpretation context", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Required namespace, base location, containing object, contextual anchor or resolver convention", "why_it_matters": "The same expression may designate different targets when interpreted in different contexts." }, { "name": "Intended target", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Target entity and any selected fragment, with evidence for the intended binding", "why_it_matters": "Makes it possible to distinguish reaching something from reaching the right thing." }, { "name": "Target selection policy", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Fixed version, current version, context-selected target, other or unknown", "why_it_matters": "Determines whether a changed result is expected behaviour or a broken reference." }, { "name": "Observed resolution state", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Untested, resolved, ambiguous, not found, access denied, resolver unavailable or malformed", "why_it_matters": "Separates distinct reasons that following the pointer may succeed or fail." }, { "name": "Resolution evidence age", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Elapsed seconds since the recorded resolution observation", "why_it_matters": "Helps an agent decide whether previous resolution evidence needs refreshing." }, { "name": "Observed target correspondence", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Matches intended target, mismatches, partially matches or unverified", "why_it_matters": "A successful resolution alone does not establish a correct binding." } ], "affordances": [ "Interpret the reference using an explicit namespace and context.", "Resolve the pointer and record the returned target, intermediate steps and observation conditions.", "Compare the resolved target with evidence of the intended target.", "Rebase or translate the pointer while checking that its target binding is preserved.", "Retarget or retire the pointer when authorised, preserving the previous binding where needed.", "Assess whether following or sharing the pointer would expose restricted information or trigger an unintended action." ] }, "sources": [ { "id": "iso-9899", "title": "ISO/IEC 9899:2018 - Information technology - Programming languages - C", "url": "https://www.iso.org/standard/74528.html", "what_it_supports": "Defines pointer types, pointer arithmetic, null pointer, and conversion rules in the C language standard.", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "iso-14882", "title": "ISO/IEC 14882:2020 - Programming languages - C++", "url": "https://www.iso.org/standard/79358.html", "what_it_supports": "Defines raw pointers, pointer-to-member, and the standard smart-pointer library (unique_ptr, shared_ptr, weak_ptr).", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "ecma-262", "title": "ECMA-262 ECMAScript Language Specification", "url": "https://tc39.es/ecma262/", "what_it_supports": "Shows the neighbouring reference model (object references without pointer arithmetic) used in managed languages.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "iso-9945", "title": "ISO/IEC/IEEE 9945 (POSIX) - Information technology - Portable Operating System Interface", "url": "https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/", "what_it_supports": "File-offset / FILE* stream pointer behaviour and lseek semantics.", "url_status": "live" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "reference-expression", "name": "Reference expression", "description": "What makes the recorded expression function as a pointer and how it must be interpreted.", "rationale": "An agent cannot judge a pointer from its visible text alone when syntax and context determine its referent.", "layers": [ { "id": "referential-role", "name": "Referential role", "description": "Establish whether the expression designates a target rather than merely describing or reproducing it.", "findings": [ { "id": "designation-test", "name": "Designation test", "description": "Record the evidence that this expression is intended to direct an interpreter to a target.", "questions": [ { "text": "What makes this expression a reference rather than a label, quotation, embedded copy or search request?", "kind": "definition", "id": "designation-test-q01" }, { "text": "Which convention or originating context establishes its referential role?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "designation-test-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "interpretation-dependencies", "name": "Interpretation dependencies", "description": "Identify the syntax and contextual inputs needed to interpret the pointer.", "findings": [ { "id": "expression-and-context", "name": "Expression and context", "description": "Record the reference expression together with dependencies that affect what it designates.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which parts of the expression encode the target, and which encode a fragment, version or interpretation instruction?", "kind": "definition", "id": "expression-and-context-q01" }, { "text": "Which namespace, base location or contextual anchor must accompany this pointer for it to retain its meaning?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "expression-and-context-q02" }, { "text": "Which changes to spelling, escaping or normalisation could change its referent?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "expression-and-context-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "target-binding", "name": "Target binding", "description": "The intended referent, its granularity and the rules governing continuity of that binding.", "rationale": "A pointer can remain resolvable while silently referring to the wrong object, fragment or version.", "layers": [ { "id": "intended-referent", "name": "Intended referent", "description": "Specify what the pointer is meant to designate and how that intent is known.", "findings": [ { "id": "target-and-selector", "name": "Target and selector", "description": "Distinguish the target as a whole from any selected part or occurrence.", "questions": [ { "text": "Does the pointer designate an entire object, a fragment, a position or a particular occurrence?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "target-and-selector-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence establishes the intended target independently of the current resolution result?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "target-and-selector-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "binding-continuity", "name": "Binding continuity", "description": "Determine which changes preserve the reference and which constitute retargeting.", "findings": [ { "id": "version-and-retargeting-policy", "name": "Version and retargeting policy", "description": "Record whether the pointer follows change or remains bound to a fixed target state.", "questions": [ { "text": "Is the pointer intended to select a fixed version, the current version or a target chosen by context?", "kind": "definition", "id": "version-and-retargeting-policy-q01" }, { "text": "Would relocation, identifier reuse or movement of the selected fragment preserve the intended binding?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "version-and-retargeting-policy-q02" }, { "text": "Who may change the binding, and what evidence must distinguish an authorised retargeting from an accidental substitution?", "kind": "action", "id": "version-and-retargeting-policy-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "resolution-evidence", "name": "Resolution evidence", "description": "How the pointer was followed, what was reached and how confidently that result can be used.", "rationale": "Resolution depends on time and context, and reaching a destination does not prove correspondence with the intended referent.", "layers": [ { "id": "resolution-observation", "name": "Resolution observation", "description": "Capture a bounded observation of the pointer's behaviour.", "findings": [ { "id": "resolution-path-and-outcome", "name": "Resolution path and outcome", "description": "Record interpretation and resolution steps, including any intermediate references and failure point.", "questions": [ { "text": "When, with which resolver, context and access conditions was this pointer last checked?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "resolution-path-and-outcome-q01" }, { "text": "What target or candidates were returned, through which intermediate references, or at which step did resolution fail?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "resolution-path-and-outcome-q02" }, { "text": "If resolution failed, what evidence separates a missing target from denied access, unavailable infrastructure or an invalid expression?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "resolution-path-and-outcome-q03" } ] } ] }, { "id": "correspondence-check", "name": "Correspondence check", "description": "Assess whether the observed destination satisfies the intended binding.", "findings": [ { "id": "resolved-target-verification", "name": "Resolved target verification", "description": "Compare the reached object and selected fragment against available evidence of intent.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which identity, version or fragment evidence supports or contradicts correspondence with the intended target?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "resolved-target-verification-q01" }, { "text": "What change or elapsed interval should require a fresh resolution and correspondence check before use?", "kind": "action", "id": "resolved-target-verification-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "reference-use-and-maintenance", "name": "Reference use and maintenance", "description": "Conditions for following, disclosing, transporting and repairing the pointer.", "rationale": "Using a pointer may require context, expose access-bearing information or alter what another interpreter will reach.", "layers": [ { "id": "following-and-disclosure", "name": "Following and disclosure", "description": "Identify consequences attached to activating or sharing this particular reference.", "findings": [ { "id": "use-conditions", "name": "Use conditions", "description": "Record what must be established before the pointer is followed or passed to another party.", "questions": [ { "text": "Does following this pointer only identify or retrieve a target, or can its activation invoke an operation?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "use-conditions-q01" }, { "text": "Does the expression contain credentials, capability tokens or restricted target information that constrain who may receive it?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "use-conditions-q02" }, { "text": "What authorisation and interpreter behaviour are required before an agent may follow or share it?", "kind": "action", "id": "use-conditions-q03" } ] } ] }, { "id": "transport-and-repair", "name": "Transport and repair", "description": "Preserve or deliberately change the binding when the pointer or its surrounding context changes.", "findings": [ { "id": "binding-preserving-maintenance", "name": "Binding-preserving maintenance", "description": "Assess copying, rebasing, replacement and retirement against the intended referent.", "questions": [ { "text": "If the pointer is copied into another document, interface or namespace, what context must travel with it or be rewritten?", "kind": "action", "id": "binding-preserving-maintenance-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence would justify repairing this reference to a proposed replacement target rather than marking the binding unresolved?", "kind": "action", "id": "binding-preserving-maintenance-q02" }, { "text": "When this pointer is replaced or retired, which known uses and previous bindings must remain traceable?", "kind": "action", "id": "binding-preserving-maintenance-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-and-external-alignment", "name": "Evidence and external alignment", "description": "What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.", "rationale": "A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.", "layers": [ { "id": "reported-evidence", "name": "Reported evidence", "description": "Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds", "name": "Kinds and varieties", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "typed memory pointer (C/C++/Rust raw pointer)", "null / optional pointer", "function pointer / procedure pointer", "smart pointer (unique, shared, weak)", "file / stream pointer (offset into a sequential resource)", "instruction pointer / program counter", "far / segmented / capability pointer (address plus bounds or rights)", "GUI mouse / caret pointer (on-screen pointing glyph)" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-identifiers", "name": "Identifiers and schemes", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "scheme": "Wikidata", "value_or_pattern": "Q4433125 (pointer, programming)", "note": "Distinct from Q38904 Pointer (dog) and Q2094996 pointing device." }, { "scheme": "ISO/IEC language type", "value_or_pattern": "C pointer type T* / C++ std::unique_ptr, std::shared_ptr", "note": "Type constructors, not instance identifiers." }, { "scheme": "POSIX / C library", "value_or_pattern": "FILE* stream; off_t file offset", "note": "Handle and offset that together act as a file pointer." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation", "name": "Standards and regulation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "ISO/IEC 9899 (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22) - C pointer types, null pointer, undefined behaviour of invalid dereference", "ISO/IEC 14882 (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22) - C++ pointers and smart pointers", "ISO/IEC/IEEE 9945 POSIX (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22 and IEEE) - file position and FILE streams", "ECMA-262 (Ecma International TC39) - object references, not C-style pointers", "CHERI / capability hardware (University of Cambridge, SRI, Arm Morello) - capability pointers with bounds and permissions" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-real-world-use", "name": "Real-world use", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "C and C++ programs pass and store addresses of objects, arrays, and functions; pointer arithmetic walks buffers and data structures.", "Operating-system kernels and device drivers use pointers to map physical and virtual memory and to share kernel objects.", "File I/O APIs keep a current-position pointer (seek offset) into a file or stream.", "CPUs expose an instruction pointer / program counter that names the next instruction.", "GUI systems draw a mouse pointer (cursor) whose hotspot is the coordinate used for hit-testing.", "Garbage-collected and managed runtimes hide raw pointers behind references; FFI and systems code still expose them at the boundary." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-measurements", "name": "Typical measurements", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "quantity": "address width", "typical_range": "16, 32, or 64 (historically also 8-128)", "unit": "bit" }, { "quantity": "object size of a pointer", "typical_range": "2-16 (commonly 4 or 8; CHERI capabilities 16)", "unit": "byte" }, { "quantity": "alignment of the pointee", "typical_range": "1-64 depending on type and ABI", "unit": "byte" }, { "quantity": "file-position offset", "typical_range": "0 to file size (often 2^63-1 max)", "unit": "byte" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards", "name": "Failure modes and hazards", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Null dereference: using a null pointer as if it named a live object.", "Dangling pointer / use-after-free: the pointee has been deallocated or has gone out of scope.", "Buffer overrun via pointer arithmetic past the allocated object (undefined behaviour; a leading cause of memory-safety CVEs).", "Type confusion / invalid cast: treating storage as a different type than was allocated.", "Uninitialized pointer: reading a pointer variable before it is set.", "Pointer injection / corruption (memory-safety exploits, arbitrary-write primitives).", "Double-free and invalid-free when a pointer is used as an ownership token incorrectly.", "Information leak of addresses (ASLR bypass) when pointer values are disclosed." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-regional-variation", "name": "Regional variation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "US/English systems programming: 'pointer' almost always means a memory address; 'cursor' is used for UI and for database/file position.", "British and ISO C text also use 'pointer'; UI documentation more often says 'pointer' or 'mouse pointer' interchangeably with 'cursor'.", "Some European language standards and textbooks translate as Zeiger (German), pointeur (French), puntero (Spanish), указатель (Russian).", "Capability and CHERI research (UK/US) treats a pointer as an unforgeable bounded capability, not a bare integer address.", "In database and COBOL practice, 'pointer' may mean a record locater or file position rather than a machine address." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-neighbours", "name": "Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "name": "reference (managed / language-level)", "difference": "A reference names an object and typically forbids arithmetic, reseating (in C++), or null (in some languages); a pointer is an address-like value that can be null, copied, and (in C) offset." }, { "name": "handle / capability", "difference": "A handle is an opaque identifier resolved by a kernel or runtime; a raw pointer is the address itself. Capability pointers add bounds and rights to the address." }, { "name": "iterator", "difference": "An iterator is a traversal object over a collection; it may be implemented with a pointer but has a container-relative contract (begin/end, invalidation rules)." }, { "name": "index / offset", "difference": "An index is an integer relative to a base (array or file); a pointer is usually an absolute address, though a file pointer is an offset." }, { "name": "mouse pointer / cursor (GUI)", "difference": "The on-screen glyph and hotspot coordinate used for pointing; not a memory address. Test: does it name a storage location or a screen position?" }, { "name": "Pointer (dog breed)", "difference": "A gundog breed (Wikidata Q38904); unrelated to INF.MED except homonymy." }, { "name": "smart pointer", "difference": "A value type that stores a raw pointer plus ownership/lifetime policy; the raw pointer is the payload, not the same abstraction." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of pointer this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does the registry intend pointer to mean an informational reference, a memory pointer, a visual pointing cue or a broader concept spanning these?", "Do existing Vercy models for reference, link, identifier or locator already own this concept, requiring reuse rather than a separate model?", "Should informal contextual references such as 'see above' belong here, and what minimum evidence makes their target identifiable?", "Should pointers that deliberately designate collections or several targets share this model with pointers expected to resolve uniquely?", "Where should the boundary fall between a pointer that conveys access authority and the neighbouring credential, capability or action model?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 5, "layers": 9, "findings": 16, "questions": 29 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "work, medium or creative form", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a pointer, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a pointer, assess whether it still identifies its intended target, and decide whether it may be followed, shared, updated or retired.", "characteristics": { "substance": "information", "origin": "conceptual", "agency": "inert" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "read and interpreted", "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: dangling pointer, smart pointer, function pointer, Far pointer, hazard pointer, Locks-and-keys, opaque pointer, stale pointer bug.", "8 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 61 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a pointer, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "content that has to be carried by something else", "physicalCharacter": [ "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "read it and act on what it says", "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "What is seen is a copy or a performance, not the work. Recognising the work means recognising the content through whatever is carrying it." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "dangling pointer", "smart pointer", "function pointer", "Far pointer", "hazard pointer", "Locks-and-keys", "opaque pointer", "stale pointer bug" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 61 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 8 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one pointer from another, and a pointer from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a pointer sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a pointer from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a pointer passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a pointer between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a pointer, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a pointer is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "content-and-access", "name": "Content, encoding and access", "description": "What a pointer says, how it is encoded and who may read it.", "rationale": "An informational thing carries content that can be copied, versioned and withheld, none of which its physical carrier explains.", "layers": [ { "id": "content-and-encoding", "name": "Content and encoding", "description": "The content itself, its format and its language.", "findings": [ { "id": "content-and-format", "name": "Content, format and language", "description": "What a pointer contains and in what form it is held.", "questions": [ { "id": "content-and-format-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the content of a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "content-and-format-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the content of a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "content-and-format-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the content of a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "access-and-rights", "name": "Access, rights and retention", "description": "Who may read, copy or change it, and for how long it is kept.", "findings": [ { "id": "access-rules", "name": "Access rules and retention", "description": "The permissions attached to a pointer and the period it survives.", "questions": [ { "id": "access-rules-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes access to a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "access-rules-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about access to a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "access-rules-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once access to a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "work-and-manifestation", "name": "Work, version and copy", "description": "Which level of pointer a statement is about.", "rationale": "The work, the edition, the file and the copy in hand are four things; rights and content attach to different ones.", "layers": [ { "id": "levels", "name": "Levels of the thing", "description": "Work, expression, manifestation and item, in plain terms.", "findings": [ { "id": "level-rules", "name": "What belongs at each level", "description": "Which facts hold for the work and which only for one copy.", "questions": [ { "id": "level-rules-q01", "text": "For pointer, which facts belong to the work itself, which to a version, and which to a single copy?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "level-rules-q02", "text": "What identifier exists at each level, and which one is being cited?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "versions", "name": "Versions, editions and variants", "description": "How versions differ and which is canonical to whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "version-record", "name": "Versions and canonicity", "description": "Differences that matter and who calls one authoritative.", "questions": [ { "id": "version-record-q01", "text": "Which versions or editions of pointer exist, and how do they differ substantively?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "version-record-q02", "text": "Who treats which version as authoritative, and for what purpose?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "authorship-and-rights", "name": "Authorship, rights and permitted use", "description": "Who made pointer and what may be done with it.", "rationale": "Rights are jurisdictional, time-limited and attached to a level, and an agent that ignores that will copy what it may not.", "layers": [ { "id": "authorship", "name": "Authorship and contribution", "description": "Who contributed what, and in what capacity.", "findings": [ { "id": "contribution-record", "name": "Contributors and roles", "description": "The people and bodies behind it, with their roles.", "questions": [ { "id": "contribution-record-q01", "text": "Who authored or contributed to pointer, in what roles, and how is that attested?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "id": "contribution-record-q02", "text": "Where authorship is disputed or anonymous, what is recorded instead?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "rights", "name": "Rights and permissions", "description": "Which rights subsist, where, until when, and what they permit.", "findings": [ { "id": "rights-record", "name": "Rights, term and permitted acts", "description": "The regime in force and what it allows.", "questions": [ { "id": "rights-record-q01", "text": "What rights subsist in pointer, in which jurisdictions, and until when?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "rights-record-q02", "text": "Which acts are permitted without further permission, and which must an agent refuse?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a pointer came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a pointer and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a pointer is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a pointer, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a pointer, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a pointer is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 12, "findings": 14, "questions": 38 } } } }