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Ontology Sidebar

When you click a node in the Ontology Graph, its details appear in the Ontology Sidebar Panel. This panel shows the full metadata for the selected sort, predicate, or enum.

Opening the Sidebar

The sidebar appears automatically when you select a node in the graph. You can also access it through the Ontology icon in the Activity Bar -- the sidebar shows whatever is currently selected.

Sort Details

When you select a sort (circle) node:

  • Name: The sort name (e.g., "food", "vessel", "mixture")
  • Domain: Physical, Normative, or Classification
  • Parent sort: The parent in the sort hierarchy (if any)
  • Closed-world assumption: Whether the sort uses CWA
  • Description: What this sort represents in the ontology

Sorts represent types of entities in the halachic domain. Physical sorts model tangible objects (food, vessel). Normative sorts model halachic statuses (issur, heter). Classification sorts group related concepts.

Predicate Details

When you select a predicate (diamond) node:

  • Name and arity: e.g., "food/1" or "cooks_in/2"
  • Signature: The sorts each argument accepts (e.g., "food x vessel -> boolean")
  • Closed-world assumption: CWA or OWA
  • Functional: Whether the predicate returns at most one value
  • World-sensitive: Whether the predicate's truth varies across worlds (Mechaber, Rema, etc.)
  • Domain sort and range sorts: The sorts this predicate connects

Predicates define the relations you use in HLL encoding rules. Understanding a predicate's signature tells you which sorts to use as arguments.

Enum Details

When you select an enum (small circle) node:

  • Name: The enum type name (e.g., "taste_type", "cooking_method")
  • Values: All valid values for this enum (listed as badges)
  • Parent sort: The sort this enum belongs to

Enums represent fixed sets of values. When encoding, use the exact enum values listed here.

Domain Filters

The sidebar includes three toggle buttons for domain filtering:

  • Physical: Toggle physical domain sorts
  • Normative: Toggle normative domain sorts
  • Classification: Toggle classification domain sorts

These filters affect both the sidebar listing and the graph visualization. All three are enabled by default.

Type in the search field at the top of the sidebar to filter the ontology by name. This filters both the sidebar content and the graph.

Tips

  • Use predicate details to check the correct argument sorts before writing encoding rules.
  • Check whether a predicate is world-sensitive -- if so, scope your rules to the correct world.
  • Enum values must match exactly -- copy them from the sidebar to avoid typos.