von neumann integer

1 definition found

von neumann integer - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  von Neumann integer
  
     <mathematics> A finite von Neumann ordinal.
  
     The von Neumann integer N is a finite set with N elements
     which are the von Neumann integers 0 to N-1.  Thus
  
     	0 = 		= 
     	1 = 0		= {}
     	2 = 0, 1	= {, {}}
     	3 = 0, 1, 2	= {, {}, {, {}}}
     	...
  
     The set of von Neumann integers is infinite, even though
     each of its elements is finite.
  
     [Origin of name?]
  
     (1995-03-30)