Ternary
adjective
1.
consisting of or involving three; threefold; triple.
2.
third in order or rank.
3.
based on the number three.
4.
Chemistry.
consisting of three different elements or groups.
(formerly) consisting of three atoms.
5.
Mathematics. having three variables.
6.
Metallurgy. (of an alloy) having three principal constituents.
noun, plural ternaries.
7.
a group of three.
adjective
1.
consisting of three or groups of three
2.
(maths)
(of a number system) to the base three
involving or containing three variables
3.
(of an alloy, mixture, or chemical compound) having three different components or composed of three different elements
noun (pl) -ries
4.
a group of three
ternary ter·na·ry (tûr’nə-rē)
adj.
Composed of three or arranged in threes, as a chemical compound containing three elements. n.
A group of three.
programming
A description of an operator taking three arguments. The only common example is C’s ?: operator which is used in the form “CONDITION ? EXP1 : EXP2” and returns EXP1 if CONDITION is true else EXP2. Haskell has a similar “if CONDITION then EXP1 else EXP2” operator.
See also unary, binary.
(1998-07-29)
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