# Structural **Trait Number:** 5 **Layer:** Physical **Bit Position:** 5 **Binary Encoding:** `00001000 00000000 00000000 00000000` **UHT Code (self-encoding):** `08 00 00 00` --- # Icon ![[Icon5.png|200]] ## Definition The entity **serves as a supporting or enclosing component** within a larger whole. It provides shape, constraint, containment, or framework — physically or functionally. --- ## When to Apply Use this trait when the entity: - Functions as a **frame, shell, skeleton, casing**, or **load-bearing structure** - Maintains the **form or stability** of another system - Encloses, connects, or binds other parts together Avoid applying if the entity: - Plays no supporting or spatial-organizing role - Is purely behavioral, symbolic, or ephemeral - Is decorative or expressive with no structural function --- ## Related Traits - [[00 04 00 00 Part of a larger system]] — A structural element is usually a subsystem, but not all subsystems are structural. - [[10 00 00 00 - Fixed or Static]] — Many structural things are static, but some may adjust (e.g., joints, deployable frames). - [[02 00 00 00 - Material Form]] — Structures are typically material, though in theory a data schema or type structure may be abstractly “structural.” --- ## Examples - A building’s steel frame - The fuselage of an airplane - A bridge truss - A data table schema (in an abstract model) - A spine (biological structure) - A circuit board (as a platform for components) --- ## Commentary Structural traits are often associated with **form-preserving roles** — from physical load-bearing to abstract scaffolds. In physical systems, this may mean mass and geometry; in symbolic or digital systems, it may refer to schemas or data containers. Importantly, structure need not be rigid or fixed — **deployable, modular, or reconfigurable structures still qualify** as long as their purpose is to provide shape or coherence. --- **© 2025 Steven Holland. All rights reserved.** [[Copyright Statement]]