PART
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2478 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
Any connected element in a system.
A part is a whole in itself plus its connections with other parts and less the constraints that result from these connections. This implies that its identity is somehow modified in a “social” sense and that a part severed from the whole for study is not the same thing when integrated in the system
In a complex system there may exist parts made of subparts, at different levels. We better should call the former, subsystems.
Any part has a specific functional value and a positional value.
As they are generally integrated within subsystems, they are mostly locally interconnected. However, in some cases a part can be connected with different subsystems, in most cases in an on-off way, or through oriented or polarized subparts.