mapint

Mapint is a term used in mathematics and computer science to denote a mapping that involves integers. Depending on context, it may refer to a mathematical function with integer domain, an implementation name in a software project, or a higher-order function that operates on collections of integers.

In mathematics, a map from integers to integers (a function f: Z -> Z) is an object that assigns every integer an image, often with additional structure or constraints. Examples include f(n) = n + 1, f(n) = n^2, or f(n) = n mod m. Such maps are central to number theory and algebraic studies, where the domain and codomain are specified as the set of all integers or a subset thereof.

In programming, mapint commonly describes a higher-order function that applies an integer-valued function to each element of a sequence of integers. For example, given a function f: int -> int and a list xs: List[int], mapint(f, xs) returns [f(x) for x in xs]. Some languages implement this as map(f, xs) with specialized integer types, while others provide dedicated integer-specific helpers to improve performance or type safety.

Considerations include handling of integer overflow, potential undefined behavior for certain operations, and evaluation strategy. In strict languages, the mapping is eager; in lazy or streaming languages, elements may be produced on demand, affecting memory usage and latency.

See also: map, higher-order function, integer, list, functional programming.

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