Chapter 12. Generalization Redux

There can be only one.

—Duncan McLeod, Highlander TV and movie franchise

Thus far we have discussed the notion of class in terms of single set entities. The class defines the unique set of properties that all member entities of that class have. In Chapter 3 the notion of generalization was introduced via an overview. In this chapter we will get into some unique issues around generalization. Ironically, though generalization is very powerful, much of this chapter is devoted to the pitfalls of using generalization and will encourage you to be judicious in its use. To review from Chapter 3:

• A generalization is a relation that describes how specialized objects may be generalized.

• A specialization is a relation ...

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