Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method, in a computer system, for a hardware/software interface system to manipulate a plurality of discrete units of information having properties understandable by said hardware/software interface system, Items. The method uses a base schema comprising at least one of an Item as a base Item from which all other Items are derived, and at least one of a property as a base property from which all other properties are derived. Furthermore, an Item may comprise a property for referencing Categories to which the Item is a member. The Item may also comprise a property for a unique identification of that Item in the hardware/software interface system.