permutated

Permutated is a term used in mathematics and computer science to describe the act of rearranging the elements of a set or sequence. A permutation is a specific arrangement of these elements. For instance, if we have the set {A, B, C}, the possible permutations are ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, and CBA. The number of permutations of a set with n distinct elements is given by n factorial (n!), which is the product of all positive integers up to n.

In combinatorics, permutations are crucial for counting the number of ways to arrange objects where order matters. This contrasts with combinations, where the order of selection does not matter. For example, selecting two letters from {A, B, C} for a combination would result in {A, B}, {A, C}, and {B, C}, as the order of the letters within each pair is disregarded.

In computer science, permutations are fundamental to various algorithms, including sorting and searching. Generating all permutations of a sequence can be computationally intensive, especially for large sets, due to the rapid growth of the factorial function. Algorithms like Heap's algorithm or the Steinhaus–Johnson–Trotter algorithm are used to efficiently generate permutations. The concept of permutation also extends to abstract algebra, where it refers to bijective functions from a set to itself.