"A Cloud of Grasshopper Components"

In a recent project I divided up a Definition into separate groups of components on the same canvas, but rather than refering to them as clusters, which might lead to confusion. I would like to put forward the term Cloud (which is particularly adept if you use the metaball grouping).

This also happens to be the collective name for a group of grasshoppers in the wild.

Any thoughts?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pieter Segeren on September 28, 2011 at 6:05am

Nice idea, but what's wrong with Group?

Permalink Reply by Danny Boyes on September 28, 2011 at 6:23am

Hi Peter,

In the most recent project I have separate groups making up a Cloud, and it was to distinguish between these local groups and the next process carried out in the next area.

Each Cloud is a cluster waiting to happen as they have separately defined inputs and outputs. But I was looking for a term that was more fitting and easier to say/type than compartmentalisation of the Definition.

Its almost like sub-routines or functions in programming.

Permalink Reply by Pieter Segeren on September 28, 2011 at 7:51am

Ah, a Group of Groups you mean, or? I agree Cloud sounds a lot better.
I cloud my groups by using the same group colour on them.
(Are all the purple groups in your image part of one single cloud? I'm trying to understand you correctly)

Permalink Reply by Danny Boyes on September 28, 2011 at 8:00am

The image shown does not have groups within groups as I can't show an example of the most recent project for contractual reasons. But unfortunately Andy has shown that the industry standard would be more attune to Modules instead of Clouds.

Permalink Reply by Andy Payne on September 28, 2011 at 6:56am

I believe the proper term would be schema or schemata. Daniel Davis presented an excellent paper on this topic at CAAD futures 2011. You can download the full paper here: http://www.nzarchitecture.com/image/caadfutures2011.pdf

Permalink Reply by Danny Boyes on September 28, 2011 at 7:27am

Thanks for the link Andy. They are using the term Module to describe what I'm after, which works for me. Although Cloud being the term for a group of grasshoppers had a certain irony to it.

Permalink Reply by Michael Pryor on September 28, 2011 at 12:32pm