Containment hierarchy

Containment hierarchy

A containment hierarchy is a hierarchical collection of strictly nested sets. Each entry in the hierarchy designates a set such that the previous entry is a strict superset, and the next entry is a strict subset. For example, all rectangles are quadrilaterals, but not all quadrilaterals are rectangles, and all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. A hierarchy of this kind is to be contrasted with a more general notion of a partially ordered set.

A taxonomy is a classic example of a containment hierarchy:
* In geometry: shape -> polygon -> quadrilateral -> rectangle -> square
* In biology: animal -> bird -> raptor -> eagle -> golden eagle
* The Chomsky hierarchy in formal languages: recursively enumerable -> context-sensitive -> context-free -> regular
* In physics: particle -> elementary particle -> fermion -> lepton -> electron
* In philosophy: abstract -> concept -> idea -> application -> concrete

See also

* Cladistics
* Hierarchy (mathematics)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hierarchy — A hierarchy (Greek: hierarchia (ἱεραρχία), from hierarches, leader of sacred rites ) is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) in which the items are represented as being above, below, or at the same level as one… …   Wikipedia

  • Hierarchy (disambiguation) — The concept of hierarchy, originally meaning rule by priests , has been used metaphorically to describe many different things. See Hierarchy for the main article, and also: * Hierarchical organization * Hierarchy (mathematics) * Containment… …   Wikipedia

  • Hierarchy (mathematics) — In mathematics, a hierarchy is a preorder, i.e. an ordered set. The term is used to stress a natural hierarchical relation among the elements. In particular, it is the preferred terminology for posets whose elements are classes of objects of… …   Wikipedia

  • Chomsky hierarchy — Within the field of computer science, specifically in the area of formal languages, the Chomsky hierarchy (occasionally referred to as Chomsky–Schützenberger hierarchy) is a containment hierarchy of classes of formal grammars. This hierarchy of… …   Wikipedia

  • Mildly context-sensitive language — In formal grammar theory, mildly context sensitive languages are a class of formal languages which can be efficiently parsed, but still possess enough context sensitivity to allow the parsing of natural languages. The concept was first introduced …   Wikipedia

  • List of mathematics articles (C) — NOTOC C C closed subgroup C minimal theory C normal subgroup C number C semiring C space C symmetry C* algebra C0 semigroup CA group Cabal (set theory) Cabibbo Kobayashi Maskawa matrix Cabinet projection Cable knot Cabri Geometry Cabtaxi number… …   Wikipedia

  • Algorithm characterizations — The word algorithm does not have a generally accepted definition. Researchers are actively working in formalizing this term. This article will present some of the characterizations of the notion of algorithm in more detail. This article is a… …   Wikipedia

  • Zope — Infobox Software name = Zope caption = Zope management interface in a web browser window. collapsible = yes developer = Zope Corporation status = Active latest release version = 3.3.1 latest release date = release date|2007|01|14 latest preview… …   Wikipedia

  • Taxonomy — is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek Polytonic|τάξις , taxis (meaning order , arrangement ) and Polytonic|νόμος , nomos ( law or science ). Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units… …   Wikipedia

  • CH — may refer to: Contents 1 Business 2 Entertainment and sports 3 Languages 4 Mathematics and programming 5 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”