SE: refinements for redefining identifiers

[ma-ilsi]

Background

Motivation for a problem or that which needs to be built.

From the flexibility sketched in the early drafts of Sophie was the idea of "refining" a notice or filecabinet identifier's definition to take represent a different set of files later in the config than what may have been the definition earlier in the config. This can mean adding files to the previous group of files, or refining them with stricter conditions, thereby resulting in a fewer number than the original definition. In the context of notices, the idea is similar an identifier can redefine it's location or generalise its pattern.

This opens the door to dynamic re-definitions of identifiers, removes noise, makes config files concise, dense, meaningful. It will later play a huge role in conditional effects/compliance checks (if ever implemented).

This scheme is now called refinements.

Proposal

Blueprint to resolve or implement.

• Implement chaining multiple [ ] (definitions) to refine a previous definition.

filecabinet:
    net_code["pattern="net_.*\.[ch]$";][size="+1k";]
    ...
    net_code["pattern="net_.*\.sh$";]

• Implement special empty [ ] that represents resetting or emptying the previous definition.

filecabinet:
    net_code[ ]

• Add syntax to represent additive refinements (think OR operation), and subtractive refinements (think ADD operation).