mvector

MVector is a term used in both mathematics and computer science to denote either a vector in an M-dimensional space or a mutable, dynamically sized vector data structure. Because there is no single universal standard, the precise meaning of MVector depends on the context. In mathematics, it often refers to an element of an M-dimensional vector space over a field, while in programming it typically designates a mutable container that stores a sequence of elements.

In mathematics, an M-vector is represented by an ordered M-tuple (v1, v2, ..., vM). Standard operations include vector addition, scalar multiplication, linear combinations, and norm or inner product definitions. If the underlying field is R or C, common notions such as basis, coordinates, and dimensionality apply. The space of all M-vectors is isomorphic to the coordinate space F^M.

In software libraries, MVector usually denotes a mutable vector with dynamic size. It provides random access, insertion, deletion, and resizing, plus management of internal capacity. Implementations emphasize locality and may offer views into subranges or contiguous storage. Elementwise arithmetic can be accelerated by SIMD in some libraries.

Applications include numerical computing, graphics, simulation, and data processing. The term appears across many languages and libraries, with no single standard; the exact semantics depend on the design goals of the respective library or field. See also vector, dynamic array, and mutable data structures for related concepts.