idempotents
/ˌaɪdɛmˈpoʊtənts/
noun
- Elements in mathematics or computing that, when applied or combined with themselves, produce the same result (e.g., a number that multiplied by itself equals itself, or an operation that doing twice is the same as doing once).
- When designing a database update, engineers often use idempotents to prevent errors from repeated requests.
- The programmer learned that certain matrix operations are idempotents, so running them again doesn't change the data.
- In algebra, the numbers 0 and 1 are simple idempotents because 0×0=0 and 1×1=1.