Complete preorders (and other binary relations)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the terminology and properties of complete preorders, specifically within the context of set theory. Participants clarify that a complete preorder is a transitive and total relation, also referred to as a "total preorder." The conversation highlights the work of Götz Pfeiffer, particularly his paper "Counting Transitive Relations," which, while not addressing complete relations directly, provides a foundation for understanding the counting of such relations. Additionally, the discussion touches on the classification of binary relations, with a focus on combinations of properties such as reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of set theory concepts, including relations and their properties.
  • Familiarity with the definitions of transitive, total, and antisymmetric relations.
  • Knowledge of the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) and its application in relation counting.
  • Basic skills in spreadsheet software for organizing and analyzing data.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the concept of "total preorder" in set theory literature.
  • Explore Götz Pfeiffer's paper "Counting Transitive Relations" for insights into relation counting.
  • Investigate the properties and classifications of binary relations, focusing on reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.
  • Learn how to utilize OEIS for identifying sequences related to binary relations and their properties.
USEFUL FOR

Mathematicians, computer scientists, and anyone interested in the theoretical aspects of set theory and binary relations, particularly those working with relation properties and counting methods.

CRGreathouse
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Is there a commonly-used name for a complete preorder (a transitive and total relation, Sloan's A000670 and A011782 for labeled and unlabeled, respectively) within set theory? (Not a total order, mind you -- it need not be antisymmetric.) I've heard the term "weak order", but that's from the same field that uses "linear order" for total orders, so I wanted some clarification if anyone knows of something else.

Also, does anyone know about counting the number of elements in complete relations? Götz Pfeiffer has an excellent paper Counting Transitive Relations about counting transitive relations (mentioning 26 classes of relations along the way), but he doesn't touch on the slightly-more-manegable complete relations at all.
 
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I've heard the term "total preorder".

What's a "complete relation"? I've not heard the term before. Is it one where at least one of xRy and yRx is true?
 
Hurkyl said:
I've heard the term "total preorder".

What's a "complete relation"? I've not heard the term before. Is it one where at least one of xRy and yRx is true?

Ah, yes, that's the term. I knew I had heard something like that, thanks.

Yes, xRy V yRx for every x, y in the set. What do you call that, totality?


In any case, on the second part of my question, I've been putting together a spreadsheet with the values (actually their logarithms, since otherwise they'd be prohibitively large) of combinations of properties for labeled binary relations. With C = complete/total, R = reflexive, S = symmetric, T = transitive, and A = antisymmetric, I have all 17 interesting combinations figured out now:
--, R, C, S, RS, T, TA, ST, RT, CT, CTA, A, RA, CA, STA, RTA, RST

I have a OEIS number for each one (with modification if needed), and values at least as far as Sloan's sequences go (and further in some cases).
 
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