Propertyrelies

Propertyrelies is a term used in information modeling and software engineering to denote that the value or state of one property depends on one or more other properties within a system. The concept is descriptive rather than prescriptive: it captures how data or behavior is related, rather than prescribing a fixed computation method.

In practice, propertyrelies is modeled with dependency graphs where nodes represent properties and directed edges indicate dependence. Updates to source properties propagate to dependent properties, and the graph can encode both computed values (derived properties) and constraints (invariants) that must hold as source values change. The notion emphasizes provenance and change management, helping systems determine when to recalculate values.

Examples include a product catalog where priceWithTax relies on basePrice and taxRate; a user profile where displayName relies on firstName and lastName; or a sensor fusion model where calibratedReading relies on rawReading and calibrationOffset. In ontology and data integration, propertyrelies can describe functional dependencies used to infer new facts or maintain consistency across datasets.

Relation to related ideas includes derived properties, data lineage, and reactive programming. Designers should consider potential cycles, propagation costs, and the maintainability of dependencies when applying propertyrelies in a model. The term remains informal and may be defined differently across domains.