Operationsekvens

Operationsekvens (Swedish for "operation sequence") is a concept used in mathematics, computer science and process engineering to describe an ordered set of operations applied to a state or data. An operation sequence specifies the exact order in which operations are executed, and may include conditional branches, loops, or parallelizable components when dependencies permit.

Definition: An operation sequence is a finite or infinite list of operations O1, O2, ..., where each operation transforms a state or data item. The result depends on the assumed initial state and on the outcomes of prior operations.

Notational aspects: In programming, a sequence of statements or function calls constitutes an operation sequence. In algebra, a composition of operators forms a sequence of transformations.

Examples: In a calculator flow: input 5, add 3, multiply by 2, subtract 4. In a data pipeline: extract, clean, transform, load.

Applications: Design and analysis of algorithms, instruction set design, workflow modeling, and manufacturing process planning.

Properties: Deterministic vs nondeterministic sequences; dependencies between steps; potential for optimization through reordering of independent operations; complexity measured by sequence length or cost.

Relation to other concepts: Distinguishable from a control-flow graph or a tree of operations; a sequence is a linear path, whereas more complex structures may involve branching (control flow) or recursion.

See also: algorithm, function composition, pipeline, workflow, instruction sequence.

Notes: The term is used across languages with similar meanings and may be defined more narrowly in specialized disciplines.