N mutually orthogonal vectors span an N-dimensional
vector space, meaning that, any vector in the space can be
expressed as a linear combination of the vectors. This is
true of any set of N linearly independent vectors.
The term is used loosely to mean mutually independent or well
separated. It is used to describe sets of primitives or
capabilities that, like linearly independent vectors in
geometry, span the entire "capability space" and are in some
sense non-overlapping or mutually independent. For example,
in logic, the set of operators "not" and "or" is described as
orthogonal, but the set "nand", "or", and "not" is not
(because any one of these can be expressed in terms of the
others).
Also used loosely to mean "irrelevant to", e.g. "This may be
orthogonal to the discussion, but ...", similar to "going off
at a tangent".
See also orthogonal instruction set.
[Jargon File]
(2002-12-02)
Nearby terms:
orphaned i-node « orphan process « ORTHOCARTAN « orthogonal » orthogonal instruction set » Orwell » OS
