Reftre

Reftre is a term used in information science and software design to refer to a tree-based representation of referential relationships among objects. It is designed to model how items such as documents, datasets, or concepts reference one another, emphasizing hierarchical organization and easy traversal of dependencies.

A reftre consists of nodes, each containing an identifier, optional payload data, and a set of outgoing references. Each edge carries a label describing the type of reference (for example, cites, relies on, updates). In its simplest form the structure is a directed tree, with a single root and non-overlapping branches. In practice, implementations may permit acyclic graphs to allow shared references, but the core concept remains hierarchical.

Core operations include adding a reference from a parent node to a child node, retrieving ancestors and descendants, and flattening a branch into a linear list for reporting. Additional features may include versioning, edge weights, or provenance metadata to record source, timestamp, and authorship.

Applications of reftre include digital libraries to map citation chains; knowledge graphs to organize concept dependencies; document management for regulatory or legal cross-references; and software documentation to trace module dependencies and changelogs.

Adoption and standardization of reftre are still developing. There is no universal standard, and the term appears in academic discourse and in some project documentation as a design pattern or data model. As a concept, it is related to reference graphs, citation networks, and provenance trails.