topology
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (4)
- topographic study of a given place (especially the history of the place as indicated by its topography)“Greenland's topology has been shaped by the glaciers of the ice age”
- the study of anatomy based on regions or divisions of the body and emphasizing the relations between various structures (muscles and nerves and arteries etc.) in that regionSynonyms: regional anatomytopographic anatomy
- the branch of pure mathematics that deals only with the properties of a figure X that hold for every figure into which X can be transformed with a one-to-one correspondence that is continuous in both directionsSynonyms: analysis situs
- the configuration of a communication networkSynonyms: network topology
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Topology \To*pol"o*gy\, n. [Gr. ? place + -logy.] The art of, or method for, assisting the memory by associating the thing or subject to be remembered with some place. [R.] [1913 Webster]
2.a branch of mathematics which studies the properties of geometrical forms which retain their identity under certain transformations, such as stretching or twisting, which are homeomorphic. See also topologist. [PJC]
3.configuration, especially in three dimensions; -- used, e. g. of the configurations taken by macromolecules, such as superhelical DNA. [PJC]
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
topology
1.<mathematics> The branch of mathematics dealing with continuous transformations.
2.<networking> Which hosts are directly connected to which other hosts in a network. Network layer processes need to consider the current network topology to be able to route packets to their final destination reliably and efficiently.
(2001-03-29)