Semiring
In abstract algebra, a semiring is an algebraic structure. It is a generalization of a ring, dropping the requirement that each element must have an additive inverse. At the same time, it is a generalization of bounded distributive lattices.
Algebraic structure → Ring theory Ring theory |
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The smallest semiring that is not a ring is the two-element Boolean algebra, e.g. with logical disjunction as addition. A motivating example that is neither a ring nor a lattice is the set of natural numbers under ordinary addition and multiplication, when including the number zero. Semirings are abundant, because a suitable multiplication operation arises as the function composition of endomorphisms over any commutative monoid.
The theory of (associative) algebras over commutative rings can be generalized to one over commutative semirings.
Algebraic structures |
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