properstexts

Properstexts is a term used in knowledge representation to describe textual definitions of properties assigned to entities. They function as property definitions, combining human-readable descriptions with identifiers and constraints that support machine processing. The term is not standardized and its exact meaning can vary between projects and domains.

A properstext typically includes a property identifier, a label, a formal or descriptive definition, and information about the value domain. Many also specify data type, units, valid ranges or allowed values, provenance, and versioning. Properstexts may be written in natural language for readability or encoded in formal form for interoperability.

Purposes include documenting semantics of properties, guiding data validation, enabling interoperability across systems, and supporting dataset documentation. Distinguishing a properstext from the property’s actual values helps maintain clarity between what a property means and what values can be assigned.

Typical structure elements are: name or identifier, label, definition, domain and range, data type, constraints (range, pattern, enumerations), units, examples, notes, source, and version. In formal implementations, these elements may be expressed as ontological axioms or schema declarations.

Relation to related concepts: properstexts overlap with data dictionaries, metadata records, and knowledge-ontology modules. They emphasize property semantics and constraints rather than data instances. When encoded in formats like OWL or JSON-LD, they enable validation and automated reasoning.

Example: a properstext for "publicationYear" might specify integer datatype, range 1450 to current year, no unit, definition "year of publication," and an example value 1999.