(definition)
Definition: (1) Of a boolean, 0 if 1, or 1 if 0. See not. (2) Of a set A, a set having all the members which are in the universe, but not in A.
See also difference, union, intersection.
Note: The complement can be seen as the difference of a set and the universe, or the universal set. That is, A' = U - A. If the universe is {1, 2, 3, 4}, then the complement of {1, 2} is {3, 4}, and the complement of {3} is {1, 2, 4}.
Author: PEB
If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul E. Black.
Entry modified 17 December 2004.
HTML page formatted Fri Mar 25 16:20:34 2011.
Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "complement", in
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data
Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed.,
U.S. National Institute of
Standards and Technology. 17 December 2004. (accessed TODAY)
Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/complement.html
