Function

From Freepedia

In general (not in the mathematical but in the engineering sense), a function is a goal-oriented property of an entity. The carrier of a function is a process; therefore, is possible to realise the same function using different physical processes, and one process can be a carrier of multiple functions. For example, the main function of a clock, the presentation of time, can be realized by different physical processes, including atomic, electronic, and mechanical processes. In natural language, the terms process or task are frequently used for the concept.

Function may refer to:

• The role of a component in an assembly, or of an element in a systemic aggregate (such as a person within a group)
• (In mathematics)
  • The fundamental concept of a mathematical function
  • A functional
• (In computer science)
  • A function subprogram that is a constituent element of a program written in a functional programming language, often analogous to a mathematical function
  • A subroutine or procedure that normally computes a value
  • In object-oriented programming, a function object
• (In language studies, grammatical function)
  • The role served by a structural or figural element of literature, rhetoric or other discourse
  • The syntactic or semantic role performed by any operator, word or part of speech with respect to adjacent, subordinate or otherwise controlled or indexed elements within a sentence, or across sentence boundaries: subject, verb, object, determiner, inflection and case, quantification, mood or modality, tense, aspect, etc.
• In sociology, the focus of functionalism: social function
• In music, diatonic functionality