Message

The purpose of a message is to trigger an interaction between data. The data in the interaction are usually:

• The message itself, or some part of it.
• Some other data, often referred to by the message.
• Some abstract machine that governs the interaction, often referred to by the message.

The message often identifies, but does not fully describe these parts. These are all just data. This is most obvious for the message and “pure data” it refers to, but the abstract machine is just data too, and it’s machines all the way down. Structure determines function, and structure is just data.

February 24, 2026