[Freebase-discuss] Want to refactor real-time operating system as sub-type of operating system

[Jeff Donner]

> Jeff Prucher:
> If there are properties of real-time operating systems that are not also
> properties of other operating systems, you could create a new type for them
> in a base, with the relevant properties. But if you just want to be able to
> say, generally, that real-time operating system is a kind of operating
> system, or that some given OS is an example of a real-time operating
> system, we don't currently have a good way to do those.

I suppose it's bad form to add a dud attribute (rtos:'yay!') just to
allow the distinction to fit the type system huh? I don't need this
feature too badly, but it seems like this would come up elsewhere,
where distinguishing types is useful but any attributes are too
complex to be anything but invisible. FWIW I want it for a job-search
project; skills for RTOSes are different, from desktop OSes. I suppose
you could do it by adding an attribute to OS - 'type' or something -
desktop, mobile, rtos, etc. You could use 'parent' but that'd be an
abuse.

> Shawn Simister:
> If there are no additional properties you could create an
> Operating System Category type to just categorize them as
> real-time, mobile, desktop, etc.

Would that be ok? Are there good ways to proliferate values for that
attribute, which are subclasses of each other? like desktop-windows,
desktop-mac-pre_unix_transition? It looks like it could become a swamp.

Well, as I say I don't need this that badly, so if a solution is hard
or goes against the grain, no need to worry about it.

Jeff