System

A System is a composite entity with interacting components (that form a unified whole through systematic organization).

• AKA: Systematic Entity, Organized Whole, Component Assembly.
• Context:
  • System Input: Material Input, Energy Input, Information Input
    • Optional Input: Control Signal, Configuration Parameter, Environmental Stimulus
  • System Output: Material Output, Energy Output, Information Output
  • System Performance Measure: Performance Metrics such as efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability
  • ...
  • It can (typically) maintain its System Boundary through component interactions.
  • It can (typically) have a System Birth through component assembly or emergence.
  • It can (typically) anticipate a System Death through component failure or dissolution.
  • It can (typically) exchange System Resources with its environment when open.
  • It can (typically) preserve its System Identity despite component changes.
  • It can (often) exhibit System Behavior through component interactions.
  • It can (often) generate System Effects within its environment.
  • It can (often) maintain System States during its operational period.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Physical System to being an Abstract System, depending on its system materiality.
  • It can range from being a Closed System to being an Open System, depending on its system boundary permeability.
  • It can range from being a Simple System to being a Complex System, depending on its system component interaction complexity.
  • It can range from being a Fixed System to being a Dynamic System, depending on its system state variability.
  • It can range from being an Evolved System to being a Designed System, depending on its system origin type.
  • It can range from being a Healthy System to being a Failed System, depending on its system operational state.
  • It can range from being a Brittle System to being a Resilient System, depending on its system adaptation capability.
  • It can range from being a Dependent System to being an Independent System, depending on its system autonomy level.
  • It can range from being a Controlled System to being an Self-Governing System, depending on its system decision capability.
  • ...
  • It can undergo System Change through internal transformation or external influence.
  • It can experience System Breakdown due to component failure or interaction disruption.
  • It can achieve System Performance Levels based on its capability measures.
  • It can be represented by System Models for analysis purposes.
  • It can be studied through Systems Science using systematic methods.
  • It can be described by Systems Theory for theoretical understanding.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Natural Systems, such as:
    • Solar System, demonstrating gravitational interactions between celestial bodies.
    • Planetary System, exhibiting orbital dynamics and atmospheric processes.
    • Thermodynamic System, showing energy flows and state transitions.
    • Geological Systems, such as:
      • Tectonic Plate System, illustrating crustal movements and geological formations.
      • River Basin System, displaying water cycle dynamics and erosion patterns.
      • Mountain Range System, showing geological uplift and weathering processes.
  • Biological Systems, such as:
    • Rainforest Ecosystem, showing complex interactions between species and environment.
    • Human Body System, exhibiting integrated functions of multiple organ systems.
    • Individual Human, demonstrating biological processes and cognitive functions.
    • Microbiome Systems, such as:
      • Soil Microbiome System, supporting nutrient cycling and plant growth.
      • Gut Microbiome System, facilitating digestion processes and immune functions.
      • Marine Microbiome System, driving oceanic nutrient cycles and carbon sequestration.
  • Social Systems, such as:
    • Global Financial System, coordinating economic activity across markets.
    • Economic System, managing resource allocation and value exchange.
    • Political System, organizing governance structures and power relations.
    • Human Societal System, integrating cultural patterns and social norms.
    • Educational Systems, such as:
      • University System, providing higher education through structured curriculums.
      • Public School System, delivering standardized education to student populations.
      • Corporate Training System, developing employee skills through professional development.
  • Designed Systems, such as:
    • Technological Systems, such as:
      • Internet Infrastructure, enabling global communication through network protocols.
      • Computing System, performing information processing and data manipulation.
      • Autonomous Vehicle System, combining sensors, processors, and control mechanisms.
    • Organizational Systems, such as:
      • Corporate Management System, coordinating business operations and resource allocation.
      • Healthcare Delivery System, providing medical services through integrated care.
      • Supply Chain System, managing product flows and logistics operations.
  • Abstract Systems, such as:
    • Mathematical Logic System, providing formal reasoning framework.
    • Legal System, establishing rules and enforcement mechanisms.
    • Language System, enabling communication through structured patterns.
    • Classification Systems, such as:
      • Biological Taxonomy System, organizing living organisms by evolutionary relationships.
      • Library Classification System, arranging information resources through categorical structures.
      • Chemical Element System, organizing elements by atomic propertys.
  • Hybrid Systems, such as:
    • Socio-Technical Systems, such as:
      • Smart City System, integrating digital infrastructure with urban environments.
      • Energy Grid System, combining physical infrastructure with control software.
      • Healthcare Information System, merging medical practices with information technology.
    • Bio-Technological Systems, such as:
      • Agricultural Ecosystem, blending natural processes with human intervention.
      • Bioremediation System, using biological agents for environmental cleanup.
      • Synthetic Biology System, engineering biological components for designed functions.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Random Collections, such as an information-bearing non-touching stone arrangement, which lacks component interactions and unified purpose.
  • Single Elements, such as an isolated entity, which lack the necessary multiple components and internal relations to form a system.
  • Information-bearing Non-Touching Stone Arrangement.
  • Relations.
• See: System Property, Element (Mathematics), Systems Engineering, Systems Analysis, Interaction.

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System Retrieved:2024-9-15.
  • A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is expressed in its functioning. Systems are the subjects of study of systems theory and other systems sciences.

    Systems have several common properties and characteristics, including structure, function(s), behavior and interconnectivity.

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/system Retrieved:2014-6-12.
  • A system is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole or a set of elements (often called 'components' ) and relationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets. Every system is delineated by its spatial and temporal boundaries, surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its structure and purpose and expressed in its functioning.

    Fields that study the general properties of systems include systems science, systems theory, systems engineering, cybernetics, dynamical systems, thermodynamics, complex systems and system analysis and design. They investigate the abstract properties of systems' matter and organization, looking for concepts and principles that are independent of domain, substance, type, or temporal scale. Some systems share common characteristics, including:* A system has structure, it contains parts (or components) that are directly or indirectly related to each other;

    • A system has behavior, it exhibits processes that fulfill its function or purpose;
    • A system has interconnectivity: the parts and processes are connected by structural and/or behavioral relationships.
    • A system's structure and behavior may be decomposed via subsystems and sub-processes to elementary parts and process steps.
    • A system has behavior that, in relativity to its surroundings, may be categorized as both fast and strong
  • The term system may also refer to a set of rules that governs structure and/or behavior. Alternatively, and usually in the context of complex social systems, the term institution is used to describe the set of rules that govern structure and/or behavior.

2013

• http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/system#Noun
  • A whole composed of relationships among the members.

2009

• WordNet.
  • instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity; "he bought a new stereo system"; "the ...
  • a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole; "a vast system of production and distribution and consumption keep the country going"
  • (physical chemistry) a sample of matter in which substances in different phases are in equilibrium; "in a static system oil cannot be replaced by water on a surface"; "a system generating hydrogen peroxide"
  • a complex of methods or rules governing behavior; "they have to operate under a system they oppose"; "that language has a complex system for indicating gender"
  • arrangement: an organized structure for arranging or classifying; "he changed the arrangement of the topics"; "the facts were familiar but it was in the organization of them that he was original"; "he tried to understand their system of classification"
  • a group of physiologically or anatomically related organs or parts; "the body has a system of organs for digestion"
  • a procedure or process for obtaining an objective; "they had to devise a system that did not depend on cooperation"
  • the living body considered as made up of interdependent components forming a unified whole; "exercise helped him get the alcohol out of his system"
  • organization: an ordered manner; orderliness by virtue of being methodical and well organized; "his compulsive organization was not an endearing quality"; "we can't do it unless we establish some system around here"

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