Content, Format, and Interpretation

The connection between notation and the content it expresses is always contingent, and mediated through complex layers of interpretation. Some content bears directly on the encoder's intention to convey a particular meaning, while other content concerns the structures in and through which that meaning is expressed and organized. Interpretive frames are abstractions that serve as context for symbolic expressions. They form a backdrop of dependencies for data management and preservation strategies. Situation semantics offers a theoretical grounding for interpretive frames that integrates them into a general theory of communication through markup and other notational structures