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--- dido:05-semantics:start [2026/07/08 03:02] – removed - external edit (Unknown date) 127.0.0.1
+++ dido:05-semantics:start [2026/07/18 12:33] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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+====== Semantics ======
+[[dido:start|Return to General Topics]]
+===== Purpose =====
+This section introduces [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:s:semantic|semantics]] as a general DIDO Solutions topic. It explains why semantics matters, how semantics differs from structure and interpretation, and how different semantic artifacts express meaning across DIDO Solutions efforts.
+The section also identifies several kinds of semantics that occur in architecture, modeling, reporting, governance, and implementation work.
+===== Overview =====
+[[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:s:semantic|Semantics]] addresses meaning within a defined context. In architecture, semantics applies to designations, expressions, model elements, data items, rules, statements, events, messages, reports, schemas, types, ontologies, and implementation artifacts.
+Semantics provides the basis for shared interpretation across organizations, systems, technologies, jurisdictions, and governance processes. Without semantic discipline, systems exchange data successfully while participants still disagree about what the data means.
+DIDO Solutions treats semantics as meaning first, structured domain commitment second, and implementation technology third. [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:o:ontology|Ontologies]], [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:r:rdf|RDF]], [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:o:owl|OWL]], schemas, type systems, vocabularies, business rules, reports, and executable logic all express semantic content in different ways. No single artifact or technology defines the full scope of semantics.
+===== Semantics, Structure, and Interpretation =====
+Semantics remains distinct from structure and interpretation.
+Structure defines form. A structure includes a field, a datatype, a schema, a message, a topic, a table, a class, a report element, or a model element.
+Semantics explains what that structure means. A field named ''settlementDate'' has a structure because it has a name and a data type. The field has semantics when the architecture defines what settlement means, which event establishes the date, which party relies on the date, and which rules constrain the date.
+Interpretation applies rules, calculations, classifications, policies, or reasoning to information using semantic context. Interpretation depends on semantics because an interpreter requires a defined meaning before applying rules to information.
+===== Why Semantics Matters =====
+Semantics matters because DIDO Solutions' work spans distributed organizations, financial-domain concepts, standards activities, regulatory contexts, implementation technologies, and governance responsibilities.
+Semantic discipline supports:
+  * Shared understanding across organizations
+  * Consistent use of terms and definitions
+  * Traceability from concepts to implementation artifacts
+  * Alignment between conceptual models, schemas, reports, and code
+  * Validation of messages, events, reports, and lifecycle states
+  * Governance of meaning across standards and implementations
+  * Separation of domain meaning from technology-specific representation
+  * Detection of semantic errors that syntax alone does not reveal
+A system that accepts syntactically valid data still misinterprets the data when the system applies the wrong semantic meaning.
+  * [[dido:05-semantics:01-kinds-of-semantics:start]]
+----
+<WRAP centeralign>
+© 2026 Dido Solutions, Inc. and Jackrabbit Consulting, Inc.
+</WRAP>