NOTATIONAL SYMBOLS IN CLASSIFICATION: PART II: NOTATION AS AN ORDERING DEVICE

A previous study of notation in classification appeared in this journal in 1952 (ref. 1). I there considered what functions notational symbols actually serve in existing systems of classification, and how the structure of the symbols is related to the functions served. I showed that a classification symbol serves three purposes: (a) to represent a term, (b) to locate it among a mass of other terms, and (c) to indicate relations between the terms symbolized. The first two purposes can be readily fulfilled by using any symbols which can be arranged in a unique linear order. It is the need to indicate relations between terms which has created the complex structure of modern classification symbols.