Superclass (SCL)

Definition

Superclass (SCL) is a semantic relation which relates a Concept to one or more Concepts, or an Action to one or more Actions. It denotes hypernym (genus proximum), i.e. the more generic conceptual class to which a Concept or Action belongs. All Concepts should have SCL, while Actions only sometimes do. The reason is that while hypernymy is natural to nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc. (which are captured by Concepts), it is more rare that verbs have a transparent hypernym.

Concept Example: C apple - SCL - C fruit.

Action example: A run - SCL - A move.

False friends

SCL and CLA

Note that Superclass is different from Classification.

Do not confuse Superclass with Classification. Classification serves to relate specific entities (PLOGESTRB) to its class (C). All of these specific entities are then instances of this class.

SCL and HOL

Also, Superclass should not be used to relate an entity to something which the entity isn't fully, but is only a part thereof - in such situations, Holonym is the correct relation.

You need to distinguish two situations. If something is a manuscript fragment, it is still fully a manuscript in the sense of "physical medium holding handwritten text", and thus relating these two Concepts by C manuscript fragment - SCL - C manuscript is correct: a manuscript fragment is a manuscript in this sense.

On the other hand, most people would not consider

• ⦻ a C manuscript fragment to be a C manuscript codex,
• ⦻ a three-leaf fragment C fragment of a trial register to be a C trial register,
• ⦻ or a C fragment of a glass jar to be a C glass jar.

This is because these notions evoke a whole, to which the fragment does not amount. In such cases, you need to relate entities through the HOL relation: i.e., declare e.g. that C fragment of a glass jar - HOL - C glass jar, while picking a more appropriate SCL: C fragment of a glass jar - SCL - C glass shard.

If your definition for research is less strict than SCL-only, e.g. if you want to include both trial registers and fragments thereof in query results, don't forget to build your query accordingly, using HOL relation alongside SCL relation.

Technical Typescript definition

export interface ISuperclass extends IRelation {
    type: RelationEnums.Type.Superclass;
    entityIds: [string, string]; // `entity HAS superclass -> 0 element id abstract class, 1 element is super class`
    order: number;
}