Definition
Formally, if M is a set, the identity function f on M is defined to be that function with domain and codomain M which satisfies
- f(x) = x for all elements x in M.
In other words, the function assigns to each element x of M the element x of M.
The identity function f on M is often denoted by idM.
In terms of set theory, where a function is defined as a particular kind of binary relation, the identity function is given by the identity relation, or diagonal of M.
Read more about this topic: Identity Function
Famous quotes containing the word definition:
“... we all know the wags definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“Its a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was mine.”
—Jane Adams (20th century)
“The very definition of the real becomes: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction.... The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced. The hyperreal.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)