Most recent change of Operation
Edit made on January 18, 2014 by ColinWright at 21:32:28
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An operation, normally called a binary operation, is a calculation which combines two elements of a set to product another element of the same set.
e.g. 3 + (-4) = -1
For example:
* 3 + (-4) = -1
** This is the binary operation of addition acting on the integers.
This is the binary operation of addition acting on the integers.
In some contexts it's most natural to use the multiplicative notation,
in other contexts it's most natural to use the additive notation, in
yet other notations we can simply choose one or the other with neither
choice being more natural, and sometimes we use an entirely different
symbol.
In general, a * b = c
When using the multiplicative notation sometimes the symbol is omitted altogether.
Other examples of binary operation are matrix multiplication and composition of functions.