  This paper unites two problem-solving traditions in computer science: (1)
constraint-based reasoning, and (2) formal concept analysis. For basic
definitions and properties of networks of constraints, we follow the
foundational approach of Montanari and Rossi. This paper advocates distributed
relations as a more semantic version of networks of constraints. The theory
developed here uses the theory of formal concept analysis, pioneered by Rudolf
Wille and his colleagues, as a key for unlocking the hidden semantic structure
within distributed relations. Conversely, this paper offers distributed
relations as a seamless many-sorted extension to the formal contexts of formal
concept analysis. Some of the intuitions underlying our approach were discussed
in a preliminary fashion by Freuder and Wallace.
