Definition:Permutation/Linguistic Note
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Linguistic Note on Permutation
The word permutation to mean a bijection from a set to itself is historical, from when the term was reserved for finite sets.
As Don Knuth points out in The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms, Vaughan Pratt has made the suggestion that, because permutations are so important in the field of computer science, they be called perms:
- As soon as Pratt's convention is established, textbooks of computer science will become somewhat shorter (and perhaps less expensive).
Sources
- 1966: Richard A. Dean: Elements of Abstract Algebra ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 1.6$
- 1997: Donald E. Knuth: The Art of Computer Programming: Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms (3rd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 1.2.5$: Permutations and Factorials: Footnote