partition

(definition)

Definition: (1) A division of a set into nonempty disjoint sets that completely cover the set. (2) To rearrange the elements of an array into two (or more) groups, typically, such that elements in the first group are less than a value and elements in the second group are greater.

Formal Definition: (1) A partition P of a set S is a set of subsets with the following properties:

• ∀ s_i ∈ P, s_i ≠ ø
  (no subset is empty),
• ∀ s_i, s_j ∈ P, i ≠ j → s_i ∩ s_j = ø
  (subsets are disjoint), and
• U_i=1 s_i = S
  (subsets exactly cover the original).

Thanks to Julio A. Cartaya <[email protected]>.

Generalization (I am a kind of ...)
set.

Specialization (... is a kind of me.)
select and partition.

Aggregate parent (I am a part of or used in ...)
quicksort, Dutch national flag, American flag sort, dual-pivot quicksort.

See also set packing, subset, connected components.

Author: PEB

Implementation

If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul Black.

Entry modified 30 January 2019.
HTML page formatted Mon May 11 15:07:57 2026.

Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "partition", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Vreda Pieterse and Paul E. Black, eds. 30 January 2019. (accessed TODAY) Available from: /HTML/partition.html