Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In mathematics, a variable (from Latin variabilis, "changeable") is a symbol, typically a letter, that refers to an unspecified mathematical object. [1] [2] [3] One says colloquially that the variable represents or denotes the object, and that any valid candidate for the object is the value of the variable.
Variable binding relates three things: a variable v, a location a for that variable in an expression and a non-leaf node n of the form Q(v, P). Note: we define a location in an expression as a leaf node in the syntax tree. Variable binding occurs when that location is below the node n. In the lambda calculus, x is a bound variable in the term M ...
A variable can eventually be associated with or identified by a memory address. The variable name is the usual way to reference the stored value, in addition to referring to the variable itself, depending on the context. This separation of name and content allows the name to be used independently of the exact information it represents.
The term Variable is relevant to several contexts, and is especially important to mathematics and computer science. Scientists and engineers will often use mathematical variables in formulae and equations, such as E = mc 2; they will also have their own special uses of the term. The term Variable can also occur in other contexts, such as ...
A variable is a logical set of attributes. [1] Variables can "vary" – for example, be high or low. [ 1 ] How high, or how low, is determined by the value of the attribute (and in fact, an attribute could be just the word "low" or "high"). [ 1 ] (
In a formula, a variable may occur free or bound (or both). One formalization of this notion is due to Quine, first the concept of a variable occurrence is defined, then whether a variable occurrence is free or bound, then whether a variable symbol overall is free or bound.
Other latent variables correspond to abstract concepts, like categories, behavioral or mental states, or data structures. The terms hypothetical variables or hypothetical constructs may be used in these situations. The use of latent variables can serve to reduce the dimensionality of data. Many observable variables can be aggregated in a model ...
A variable is considered dependent if it depends on an independent variable. Dependent variables are studied under the supposition or demand that they depend, by some law or rule (e.g., by a mathematical function), on the values of other variables. Independent variables, in turn, are not seen as depending on any other variable in the scope of ...