- From: Glenn Adams <glenn@stonehand.com>
- Date: Wed, 30 Aug 95 12:29:30 -0400
- To: Paul Hoffman <ietf-lists@proper.com>
- Cc: http-wg%cuckoo.hpl.hp.com@hplb.hpl.hp.com
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 09:11:37 -0700
From: ietf-lists@proper.com (Paul Hoffman)
>Idempotent
I second the request for a clear definition in the context of this spec.
Another good reason for this: idempotent is not in any dictionary
(including my Webster's unabridged) that I could find.
Try "The Harper Collins Dictionary of Mathematics," 1991:
"idempotent, adj. 1. (of a matrix, function or ring element) having the
property that it is equal to its own square. For example, the matrix
- -
| 2 2 |
| -1 -1 |
- -
is idempotent. 2. (of an operation) having the property that every
element of its domain is idempotent with respect to it; for example,
set-theoretic intersection and union are idempotent, since S union S =
S = S intersection S. A RING of which every member is idempotent is
called a BOOLEAN RING."
Clear enough?
Regards,
Glenn Adams
S
Received on Wednesday, 30 August 1995 09:32:41 UTC