A process is a concept i.e. a mental representation of something (an abstraction of the second level; the mental representation of an object like a piece of rock is of the first level). The concepts that we call processes are characterized by the following features:
Very often processes have the following additional feature:
Also, there are processes which have a definite initial stage, but may or may not have a final stage, i.e. a process may be infinite. Processes often are contrasted with objects. The most important feature of objects is -- by definition -- their constancy with respect to certain cognitive actions. The concept of a process, on the contrary, represents a continuous change.
The most usual way of speaking of objects and processes is a criss-cross between the two concepts: a process, the stages of which are objects not identical to each other. On a smaller time scale we observe constancy with respect to some cognitive actions, which gives us the reason to speek of it as an object. On a larger time scale, this is a process, and we say that the object is changing.
One can see from this definition that the concept of a process is a very general. An object may be seen as a special kind of process where there is no change. Everything can be viewed as a process.
Mis à jour le 01/04/2016 pratclif.com