C.16.MR:10 - Architectural Rationale

The result is a relationship for interpreting an indication with respect to a specified property. A model of the subject can predict its behavior while leaving the measuring procedure undescribed. Connecting that procedure to the target property is an independently useful construction.

Construction, resolving ambiguity and repairing an inadequate arrangement cooperate but can start from different inputs and return different results. A measurement relation can be available before its data are obtained. It can also reveal that a particular indication leaves the target unresolved.

Physical interaction, mathematical expression and computational readout participate together. Their roles explain why revising a measuring instrument can require revising an equation or interpretation, and why a new display format alone may leave the underlying ambiguity unchanged.