Universal Computer Language
Traditional computer languages tend to have one major purpose. For example Java, C++, JavaScript, etc. are programming languages; their main purpose is to create processing instructions. Markup languages like HTML or XML annotate documents e.g. with formatting instructions and structure. Modelling languages such as UML and Gellish express information. Often, they are combined in order to create applications. Like HTML and JavaScript for dynamic web sites or Java and XML for apps running on mobile phones.
Conceptually, graph languages do not have a designated purpose. Graph languages can be modelling languages, programming languages or anything else really; the concept itself does not favor a specific language type. They are named after the underlying concept of using graphs to express information; what kind of information is up to the language itself.
Havel is a universal language in the sense that it can express information, processing instructions and metadata and it does not use any secondary languages to do that. Data, metadata and instructions are just different information types, treated differently by the interpreter and runtime environment but created and managed in the same way. Data and instruction fuse organically. Sometimes there is not even a clear distinction between them; data are often dynamic while instructions can be interpreted as data under certain circumstances. Anything around Havel is expressed in Havel: Data, instructions, ontologies, metadata, and configuration. Havel is even used to describe Havel itself to the interpreter.
This post is part of a comprehensive introduction into SRDM, graph languages and Havel.
Continue reading: Information Modelling
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