Verknüpfung

Verknüpfung is a German noun meaning the act or result of linking, connecting, or relating two or more things. It derives from verknüpfen (to link) with the nominalizing suffix -ung. In everyday language, Verknüpfung denotes a connection or association, whether physical, causal, or conceptual, for example the Verknüpfung zwischen Ursache und Wirkung.

In logic and mathematics, Verknüpfung refers to an operator that combines propositions to form a compound statement. In German terminology, logical Verknüpfungen include conjunction (und), disjunction (oder) and negation (nicht). The term is used more generally to denote any form of logical connectives or operations that relate statements.

In computer science and data processing, Verknüpfung is used for operations that join or relate data sets. In relational databases, it is commonly described as a join between relations on matching attributes; variants include inner, outer, and natural Verknüpfungen. In the broader software sense, Verknüpfung can also mean linking resources or objects, such as creating associations between records.

In information technology and web contexts, Verknüpfung is sometimes used to denote hyperlinks that connect documents or pages, i.e., clickable Verknüpfungen to other resources.

The precise interpretation depends on domain: linguistics, logic, databases, or user interfaces. As a general term, Verknüpfung covers any act or result of linking, connecting, or coordinating elements.