In mathematics, a transition function has several different meanings:
- In topology and in particular in the theory of manifolds, a transition function between two charts of an atlas is a map which allows to pass from one chart to the other in the region where they intersect.
- In computing, a transition function is the function that defines the state transitions of a Turing machine, finite-state machine, or cellular automaton.
- In statistics and probability theory, a transition function is a stochastic kernel, the conditional probability distribution function controlling the transitions of a stochastic process.
Famous quotes containing the words transition and/or function:
“A transition from an author’s books to his conversation, is too often like an entrance into a large city, after a distant prospect. Remotely, we see nothing but spires of temples, and turrets of palaces, and imagine it the residence of splendor, grandeur, and magnificence; but, when we have passed the gates, we find it perplexed with narrow passages, disgraced with despicable cottages, embarrassed with obstructions, and clouded with smoke.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“Of all the inhabitants of the inferno, none but Lucifer knows that hell is hell, and the secret function of purgatory is to make of heaven an effective reality.”
—Arnold Bennett (1867–1931)