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constructive |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Constructive \Con*struct"ive\, a. [Cf. F. constructif.] 1. Having ability to construct or form employed in construction; as to exhibit constructive power. The constructive fingers of Watts. --Emerson. 2. Derived from or depending on construction or interpretation; not directly expressed, but inferred. {Constructive crimes} (Law), acts having effects analogous to those of some statutory or common law crimes; as constructive treason. Constructive crimes are no longer recognized by the courts. {Constructive notice}, notice imputed by construction of law. {Constructive trust}, a trust which may be assumed to exist, though no actual mention of it be made From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: constructive adj 1: constructing or tending to construct or improve or promote development; "constructive criticism"; "a constructive attitude"; "a constructive philosophy"; "constructive permission" [ant: {destructive}] 2: emphasizing what is laudable or hopeful or to the good; "constructive criticism" From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: constructiveA proof that something exists is constructive" if it provides a method for actually constructing it {Cantor}'s proof that the {real number}s are {uncountable} can be thought of as a *non-constructive* proof that {irrational number}s exist. (There are easy constructive proofs, too but there are existence theorems with no known constructive proof). Obviously, all else being equal, constructive proofs are better than non-constructive proofs. A few mathematicians actually reject *all* non-constructive arguments as invalid; this means for instance, that the law of the {excluded middle} (either P or not-P must hold whatever P is) has to go this makes proof by contradiction invalid. See {intuitionistic logic} for more information on this Most mathematicians are perfectly happy with non-constructive proofs; however, the constructive approach is popular in theoretical computer science, both because computer scientists are less given to abstraction than mathematicians and because {intuitionistic logic} turns out to be the right theory for a theoretical treatment of the foundations of computer science. (1995-04-13)
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