Topology

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  topology
       n 1: topographic study of a given place (especially the history
            of place as indicated by its topography); "Greenland's
            topology has been shaped by the glaciers of the ice age"
       2: 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
          region [syn: {regional anatomy}, {topographic anatomy}]
       3: 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 directions [syn:
           {analysis situs}]
       4: the configuration of a communication network [syn: {network
          topology}]

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  topology
       
          1.  The branch of mathematics dealing with
          {continuous transformations}.
       
          2.  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)