···@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) writes:
> I was searching for a word referring to the �x� and
> �y� in the relation �R(x,y)�. Assume, for a moment,
> the word would be �alpha� and �beta�, respectively,
> then I would like to write this explanation of "is a":
>
> "is a"
> the relation, where the alpha is an instance of the beta
>
> I looked up these web pages to find common, simple words for
> the placeholders �alpha� and �beta�:
Well, I would expect that the most standard mathemtical terminology
would use "domain" and "range" for those concepts.
This meets your desire (below) of not having multiple word terms.
Otherwise I would use "argument 1" and "argument 2". These could be
abbreviated as arg1 and arg2, which would parallel the standard
mathematical notation of tuples (which is what relations are) of using a
sequence like
<a1, ... , aN>
> I could use ��first component�� and ��second component��, but this
> is a two-word term (compound term). I do not deem compound
> terms to be appropriate for such fundamental concepts. For the
> same reason, I prefer ��pair�� to ��2-tuple��. A 2-tuple might
> have a ��first component�� and a ��second component��, but a pair
> should have a CAR and a CDR (or some other single-word term).
--
Thomas A. Russ, USC/Information Sciences Institute