Frames are descriptions of conceptual individuals. Frames can exist for ``real'' objects such as ``The Watergate Hotel'', sets of objects such as ``Hotels'', or more ``abstract'' objects such as ``Cola-Wars'' or ``Watergate''. Frames are essentially defined by their relationships with other frames. Relationships between frames are represented using slots. If a frame f is in a relationship r to a frame g, then we put the value g in the r slot of f.
For example, suppose we are describing the following genealogical tree:
The frame describing Adam might look something like:
Adam: sex: Male spouse: Beth child: (Charlie Donna Ellen)Where sex, spouse, and child are slots. Note that a single slot may hold several values (e.g., the children of Adam).
The genealogical tree would then be described by (at least) seven frames, describing the following individuals: Adam, Beth, Charlie, Donna, Ellen, Male, and Female.