Denitions related to binary relations

A binary relation R over a set S is a subset of the Cartesian product S S. For any binary relation R dened over a set S, the asymmetric and symmetric parts of R, designated by P and I respectively, are dened as follows, (x, y S)[xP y xRy yRx] (x, y S)[xIy xRy yRx]. A binary relation R dened over a set S is said to be: reexive i (x S)(xRx) connected i (x, y S)(x = y xRy yRx) transitive i (x, y, z S)(xRy yRz xRz) acyclic i (n N {1, 2})(x1 , x2 , ..., xn S)(x1 P x2 x2 P x3 ... xn1 P xn xn P x1 ). A binary relation R is said to be an ordering if and only if it is reexive, connected and transitive. A binary relation R is said to be a quasi-ordering if and only if it is reexive and transitive. Let R be a binary relation dened over a set S. An element x S is said to be a best element in S with respect to R if and only if, (y S)(xRy). Example: Let X = {a, b, c} and R be a binary relation on X. R = {(a, a), (b, b), (c, c), (a, b), (a, c), (b, c)} Here the only best element in X is a. Let R be a binary relation dened over a set S. An element x S is said to be a maximal element in S with respect to R if and only if, (y S)( yP x). In the above example, the only maximal element in X is a. 1