General Concept Lattice

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Table 1
Fig. 1: Template:AnchorThree different formal concept lattices (FCLs) obtained from the three formal contexts describing the same 3BS, where balls are equipped with three distinct colours.

The General Concept Lattice (GCL) proposes a novel general construction of concept hierarchy from formal context, where the conventional Formal Concept Lattice based on Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) only serves as a substructure.[1][2][3]

The formal context is a data table of heterogeneous relations illustrating how objects carrying attributes. By analogy with truth-value table, every formal context can develop its fully extended version including all the columns corresponding to attributes constructed, by means of Boolean operations, out of the given attribute set. The GCL is based on the extended formal context which comprehends the full information content of formal context in the sense that it incorporates whatever the formal context should consistently imply. Noteworthily, different formal contexts may give rise to the same extended formal context.[4]

Background

The GCL[4] claims to take into account the extended formal context for preservation of information content. Consider describing a three-ball system (3BS) with three distinct colours, e.g., a:=red, b:=green and c:=blue. Template:AnchorAccording to Table 1, one may refer to different attribute sets, say, M={a,b,c}, M1={a π¨π« b,b π¨π« c,c π¨π« a} or M2={a π¨π« b,b π¨π« c,c} to reach different formal contexts. The concept hierarchy for the 3BS is supposed to be unique regardless of how the 3BS being described. Template:AnchorHowever, the FCA exhibits different formal concept lattices subject to the chosen formal contexts for the 3BS , see Fig. 1. In contrast, the GCL is an invariant lattice structure with respect to these formal contexts since they can infer each other and ultimately entail the same information content.

Table 1: Template:AnchorThe extended version for the formal context describing the 3BS. From F1(G,M1) one can also deduce F3BS(G,M), thereby deducing the full F3BS(G,M). Note that a¬b¬c=(a+b)¬(b+c)(c+a),¬ab¬c=(a+b)(b+c)¬(c+a), ¬a¬bc=¬(a+b)(b+c)(c+a).
F3BS(G,M) F1(G,M1) 250 more columns 
Template:Diagonal split header a b c a+b b+c c+a ¬a+b ¬c
1 × × × ×
2 × × × × ×
3 × × × ×

In information science, the Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) promises practical applications in various fields based on the following fundamental characteristics.

  • It orders the formal concepts in a hierarchy i.e. the formal concept lattice (FCL) which can be visualized as a line diagram that may be helpful for understanding the data.
  • Template:AnchorIt enables the attribute exploration,[5] a knowledge acquisition technique based on implications. It is possible to acquire the canonical (Guigues-Duquenne[6]) basis, the non-redundant collection of informative implications based on which valid implications available from the formal context can be derived by the Armstrong rules.

Template:AnchorThe FCL does not appear to be the only lattice applicable to the interpretation of data table. Alternative concept lattices subject to different derivation operators based on the notions relevant to the Rough Set Analysis have also been proposed.[7][8][9] Specifically, the object-oriented concept lattice,[9] which is  referred to as the rough set lattice[4] (RSL) afterwards, is found to be particularly instructive to supplement the standard FCA in further understandings of the formal context.

  • The FCL exhibits the categorisation for object class according to their common properties while the RSL is according to those properties which other classes do not possess.
  • The RSL provides an alternative scheme for implications available from the formal context which are beyond the scope of FCL, as will be clarified later. 

Consequently, there are two crucial points to be contemplated.Template:Anchor

  • The FCL and RSL reflect different concept hierarchies interpreting the same formal context in a complementary way. However, similar to the case of FCL, RSL also suffers from different lattice structures varying with respect to the chosen formal contexts, see Fig. 2.
  • The implication relations extracted via the RSL from the formal context signify a different part of logic content from the ones extractable via the FCL. The treatment via the RSL would require further efforts of construction, the Guigues-Duquenne basis for the RSL. Moreover, it is unwarranted that the implications of these two together suffices the full logic content.
    Fig. 2: Template:AnchorThree different rough set lattices, cf. Fig. 1, obtained from the same three formal contexts describing the 3BS.

The GCL accomplishes a sound theoretical foundation for the concept hierarchies acquired from formal context.[4] Maintaining the generality that preserves the information, the GCL underlies both the FCL and RSL, which correspond to substructures at particular restrictions. Technically, the GCL would be reduced to the FCL and RSL when restricted to conjunctions and disjunctions of elements in the referred attribute set (M), respectively. In addition, the GCL unveils extra information complementary to the results via the FCL and RSL. Surprisingly, the implementation of formal context via GCL is much more manageable than those via FCL and RSL.

Algebras of derivation operators

The derivation operators constitute the building blocks of concept lattices and thus deserve distinctive notations. Subject to a formal context concerning the object set G and attribute set M,

I : XG XI={mMgRm, gX}MYM YI={gGgRm, mY}G,
 : XG X={mMgG,gRmgX}MYM Y={gGmM,gRmmY}G,
 : XG X={mMgG,(gRm, gX)}MYM Y={gGmM,(gRm, mY)}G

are considered as different modal operators[7][8] (Sufficiency, Necessity and Possibility, respectively) that generalise the FCA. For notations, I, the operator adopted in the standard FCA,[1][2][3] follows Template:Ill[10] and R. Wille;[1]  and  as well as R follows Y. Y. Yao.[9] By gRm, i.e., (g,m)R the object g carries the attribute m as its property, which is also referred to as gmR where mR is the set of all objects carrying the attribute m.

Template:Anchor With X,X1,X2G and Xc:=GX it is straightforward to check that

XIII=XI,X=XX=X,Xcc=XXcc=X, X1X2(X2)I(X1)I,X1X2(X1)(X2)X1X2(X1)(X2),

where the same relations hold if given in terms of Y,Y1,Y2M and Yc:=MY.

Two Galois lattices

Galois connections

Template:AnchorFrom the above algebras, there exist different types of Galois connections, e.g.,

(1) XYI YXI, (2) YX YX

and (3) XY XY that corresponds to (2) when one replaces X for Xcand Y for Yc. Note that (1) and (2) enable different object-oriented constructions for the concept hierarchies FCL and RSL, respectively. Note that (3) corresponds to the attribute-oriented construction[9] where the roles of object and attribute in the RSL are exchanged. The FCL and RSL apply to different 2-tuple (X,Y) concept collections that manifest different well-defined partial orderings.

Two concept hierarchies

Given as a concept, the 2-tuple (X,Y) is in general constituted by an extent XG and an intent YM, which should be distinguished when applied to FCL and RSL. The concept (X,Y)fcl is furnished by XI=Y and YI=X based on (1) while (X,Y)rsl is furnished by X=Y and Y=X based on (2). In essence, Template:Anchorthere are two Galois lattices based on different orderings of the two collections of concepts as follows.

(X1,Y1)fcl(X2,Y2)fcl entails X1X2 and Y2Y1
since X1X2 iff Y2=X2IX1I=Y1, and Y2Y1 iff X1=Y1IY2I=X2.
(X1,Y1)rsl(X2,Y2)rsl entails X1X2 and Y1Y2
since X1X2 iff Y1=X1X2=Y2, and Y1Y2 iff X1=Y1Y2=X2.

Common extents of FCL and RSL

Every attribute listed in the formal context provides an extent for FCL and RSL simultaneously via the object set carrying the attribute. Though the extents for FCL and for RSL do not coincide totally, every mR for mM is known to be a common extent of FCL and RSL. This turns up from the main results in FCL (Template:Ill) and RSL: every YI (YM) is an extent for FCL[1][2][3] and Yis an extent for RSL.[9] Note that[4] choosing Y={m} gives rise to YI=Y=mR.

Two types of informative implications

The consideration of the attribute set-to-set implication AfclB (A,BM) via FCL has an intuitive interpretation:[6] every object possessing all the attributes in A possesses all the attributes in B, in other words AIBI. Alternatively, one may consider ArslB based on the RSL in a similar manner:[4] the set of all objects carrying any of the attributes in A is contained in the set of all objects carrying any of the attributes in B, in other words AB. It is apparent that AfclB and ArslB relate different pairs of attribute sets and are incapable of expressing each other.

Extension of formal context

For every formal context one may acquire its extended version deduced in the sense of completing a truth-value table. It is instructive to explicitly label the object/attribute dependence for the formal context,[4] say, F(G,M):=(G,M,I) rather than 𝕂:=(G,M,I) since one may have to investigate more than one formal contexts. As is illustrated in Table 1, F3BS(G,M) can be employed to deduce the extended version F3BS(G,M), where M is the set of all attributes constructed out of elements in M by means of Boolean operations. Note that F3BS(G,M) includes three columns reflecting the use of M={a,b,c} and F1(G,M1) the attribute set M1={a π¨π« b,b π¨π« c,c π¨π« a}.

Obtaining the general concept lattice

Observations based on mathematical facts

Intents in terms of single attributes

The FCL and RSL will not be altered if their intents are interpreted as single attributes.[4]

(X,Y)fcl can be understood as (X,μ)fcl with μ=Y (the conjunction of all elements in Y), XI=μμR=X plays the role of XI=YYI=X since YI=(Y)R=μRG.
(X,Y)rsl can be understood as (X,μ)rsl with μ=Y (the disjunction of all elements in Y), X=μμR=X plays the role of X=YY=X since Y=(Y)R=μRG.

Here, the dot product  () stands for the conjunction (the dots is often omitted for compactness) and the summation + () the disjunction, which are notations in the Curry-Howard style. Note that the orderings become

(X1,μ1)fcl(X2,μ2)fcl and (X1,μ1)rsl(X2,μ2)rsl, both are implemented by X1X2μ1μ2.

Implications from single attribute to single attribute

Concerning the implications extracted from formal context,

 μ1μ2 serves as the general form of implication relations available from the formal context, which holds for any pair of μ1,μ2M fulfilling μ1Rμ2R.

Note that μ1Rμ2R turns out to be trivial if μ1μ2, which entails μ1=μ1μ2. Intuitively,[4] every object carrying μ1 is an object carrying μ2, which means the implication any object having the property μ1 must also have the property μ2. In particular,

AfclB can be interpreted as μ1μ2 with μ1=A and μ2=B,
ArslB can be interpreted as μ1μ2 with μ1=A and μ2=B,

where AIBI and AB collapse into μ1Rμ2R.

Lattice of 3-tuple concepts with double Galois connection

When extended to F(G,M), the algebras of derivation operators remain formally unchanged, apart from the generalisation from mM to μM which is signified in terms of[4] the replacements I by I,  by  and  by . The concepts under consideration become then (X,Y)fcl and (X,Y)rsl, where XG and YM, which are constructions allowable by the two Galois connections i.e. XYIYXI and YXYX, respectively. Henceforth,

XI=Y and YI=X for (X,Y)fcl, X=Y and Y=X for (X,Y)rsl.

The extents for the two concepts now coincide exactly. All the attributes in M are listed in the formal context F(G,M), each contributes a common extent for FCL and RSL. Template:AnchorFurthermore, the collection of these common extents EF:={μRμM} amounts to {kJDkJ{1nF}} which exhausts all the possible unions of the minimal object sets discernible by the formal context. Note that each Dk collects objects of the same property, see Table 2. One may then join (X,Y)fcl and (X,Y)rsl into a 3-tuple with common extent:

 (X,Yfcl,Yrsl) where XI=Yfcl, X=Yrsl and YfclI=Yrsl=X.

Note that Yfcl and Yrslare introduced in order to differentiate the two intents. Clearly, the number of these 3-tuples equals the cardinality of set of common extent which counts |EF|=2nF. Moreover, (X,Yfcl,Yrsl) manifests well-defined ordering. For X1,X2EFG , where Y1fcl,Y2fclMand Y1rsl,Y2rslM,

(X1,Y1fcl,Y1rsl)(X2,Y2fcl,Y2rsl) iff X1X2 and Y2fclY1fcl and Y1rslY2rsl.

Emergence of the GCL

Template:AnchorWhile it is generically impossible to determine Yfcl and Yrsl subject to XEFG, the structure of concept hierarchy need not rely on these intents directly. An efficient way[4] to implement the concept hierarchy for (X,Yfcl,Yrsl) is to consider intents in terms of single attributes.

Let henceforth η(X):=Yfcl and ρ(X):=Yrsl. Upon introducing [X]F:={μMμR=X}, one may check that [X]F=Yfcl and [X]F=Yrsl, XEF. Therefore,

[X]F[η(X),ρ(X)]={μMη(X)μρ(X)}, 

which is a closed interval bounded from below by η(X) and from above by ρ(X) since μ μR=Xη(X)μρ(X). Moreover,

X1X2EF X1X2 iff [X1]F[X2]F=, X1X2 iff η(X1)<η(X2) iff ρ(X1)<ρ(X2).

In addition, XEF[X]F=M, namely, the collection of intents [X]F exhausts all the generalised attributes M, in comparison to XEFX=G. Then, the GCL enters as the lattice structure ΓF:=(LF,,) based on the formal context via F(G,M):

  • The collection of all the general concepts LF={(X,[X]F) XEF} constitutes the poset (LF,) ordered asTemplate:Anchor
l1:=(X1,[X1]F)l2:=(X2,[X2]F) iff X1X2 and η(X1)η(X2) and ρ(X2)ρ(X2).
  • Both (meet) and (join) operations are applicable for finding further lattice points:
l1l2=(X1X2,[X1X2]F)LF, where [X1X2]F=[η(X1X2),ρ(X1X2)]=[η(X1)η(X2),ρ(X1)ρ(X2)],
l1l2=(X1X2,[X1X2]F)LF, where[X1X2]F=[η(X1X2),ρ(X1X2)]=[η(X1)+η(X2),ρ(X1)+ρ(X2)].
  • The GCL appears to be a complete lattice since both lsup and linf can be found in LF:
lsup=lLFl=(G,[G]F)=(G,[η(G),𝟏]), linf=lLFl=(,[]F)=(,[𝟎,ρ()]).

Consequence of the general concept lattice

Manageable general lattice

The construction for FCL was known to count on efficient algorithms,[11][12] not to mention the construction for RSL which did not receive much attention yet. Intriguingly, though the GCL furnishes the general structure on which both the FCL and RSL can be rediscovered, the GCL can be acquired via simple readout.

Reading out the lattice

The completion of GCL[4] is equivalent to the completion of the intents of GCL in terms of the lower and bounds.

  • The lower bounds (η(X) for XEF) can be employed to determine the upper bounds (ρ(X) for XEF), and vice versa. For concreteness, both X and Xc are extents of the GCL, (X,[X]F)=(X,[η(X),ρ(X)]) coexists with (Xc,[Xc]F)=(Xc,[η(Xc),ρ(Xc)]). Subsequently, η(Xc)=¬ρ(X) and ¬η(X)=ρ(Xc), where η(Xc)=¬ρ(X)¬η(X)=ρ(Xc).
  • The lower bounds of intents corresponding to minimal discernible object sets (Dks for 1knF) can be employed to determine all the intents. Note that DkEF and η(Dk)=Ψk appears to be a direct readout by means of Ψk={mMmDkI}{¬mm∉DkI,mM}.
Fig. 3: Identifying FCL and RSL on the GCL for the 3BS according to the formal context F(G,M) in Table 1. Every general intent [X]F comprises all the attributes uniquely possessed by the object set X in common. Elements on [X]F can be ordered as a Hasse diagram identifiable with the closed interval [η(X),ρ(X)] where ρ(X)=η(X)+0ρ.

Template:AnchorThe above enables the determinations of the intents depicted as in Fig. 3 for the 3BS given by Table 1, where one can read out that η({1})=a¬b¬c, η({2})=¬ab¬c and η({3})=¬ab¬c. Hence, e.g., ρ({1,2})=¬η({3})=a+b+¬c, η({1,2})=a¬b¬c+¬ab¬c=¬ρ({3}). Note that the GCL also appears to be a Hasse diagram due to the resemblance of its extents to a power set. Moreover, each intent [X]F=[η(X),ρ(X)] at X also exhibits another Hasse diagram isomorphic to the ordering of attributes in the closed interval [𝟎,0ρ]. It can be shown that XEF ρ(X)=η(X)+0ρ where 0ρ:=¬1ηρ() with 1η:=k=1nFη(Dk)η(G). Hence, [X]F={η(X)+τ𝟎τ0ρ} making the cardinality |[X]F| a constant given as 22|M|nF. Clearly, one may check that ρ({1,2})=¬η({3})=η({1,2})+0ρ

Rediscovering FCL and RSL on the GCL

The GCL underlies the original FCL and RSL subject to F(G,M), as one can tell from η(X)=Yfcl and ρ(X)=Yrsl. To rediscover a node for FCL, one looks for a conjunction of attributes in M contained in [X]F, which can be identified within the conjunctive normal form of η(X) if exists. Likewise, for the RSL one looks for a disjunction of attributes in M contained in [X]F, which can be found within the disjunctive normal form of ρ(X), see Fig 3.

For instance, from the node ({3},[{3}]F) on the GCL, one finds that η({3})=¬a¬bcc (a+¬b+c)(¬a+b+c)=ρ({3}). Note that c appears to be the only attribute belonging to [{3}]F, which is simultaneously a conjunction and a disjunction. Therefore, both the FCL and RSL have the concept ({3},{c}) in common. To illustrate a different situation, ρ({1,3})=(a+¬b+c)a+ca¬b¬c+¬a¬bc=η({1,3}). Apparently, a+c is the attribute emerging as disjunction of elements in M which belongs to [{1,3}]F, in which no attribute composed by conjunction of elements in M is found. Hence, {1,3} could not be an extent of FCL, it only constitutes the concept ({1,3},{a,c}) for the RSL.

Information content of a formal context

Informative implications as equivalence due to categorisation

Non-tautological implication relations signify the information contained in the formal context and are referred to as informative implications.[6] In general, μ1Rμ2R entails the implication μ1μ2. The implication is informative if it is not μ1μ2 (i.e. μ1μ1μ2).

In case it is strictly μ1Rμ2R, one has μ1R=μ1Rμ2R=(μ1μ2)R where μ1Rμ2Rμ2R. Then, μ1μ2 can be replaced by means of μ1μ1μ2 together with the tautology μ1μ2μ2. Therefore, what remains to be taken into account is the equivalence μR=νR=X for some XEF. Logically, both attributes are properties carried by the same object class, μν reflects that equivalence relation.

All attributes in [X]F must be mutually implied,[4] which can be implemented, e.g., by μ[X]F μη(X) (in fact, μη(X) where η(X)μ is a tautology), i.e., all attributes are equivalent to the lower bound of intent.

A formula that implements all the informative implications

Extraction of the implications of type AfclB from the formal context was known to be complicated,[13][14][15][16][17] it necessitates efforts for constructing a canonical basis, which does not apply to the implications of type ArslB. By contrast, the above equivalence only proposes[4]

  • the Template:Anchorsingle formula generating all the informative implications:
μM μμ1η, which can be restated as μM μ+0ρμ,
μ1μ2 is allowed by the formal context iff μ11ημ21η (or μ1+0ρμ2+0ρ).

Hence, purely algebraic formulae can be employed to determine the implication relations, one need not consult the object-attribute dependence in the formal context, which is the typical effort in finding the canonical basis. Template:Anchor

Remarkably, 1η and 0ρ are referred to as the contextual truth and falsity, respectively. XEF 0ρ+ρ(X)=ρ(X) and 0ρρ(X)=0ρ as well as 1ηη(X)=η(X) and 1η+η(X)=1η similar to the conventional truth 1 and falsity 0 that can be identified with ρ(G) and η(), respectively.

Beyond the set-to-set implications

AfclB and ArslB are found to be particular forms of μ1μ2. Assume A={a1,a2,}M and B={b1,b2,}M for both cases. By AfclB, an object set carrying all the attributes in A implies carrying all the attributes in B simultaneously, i.e. iaiibi. By ArslB, an object set carrying any of the attributes in A implies carrying some of the attributes in B, therefore iaiibi. Notably, the point of view conjunction-to-conjunction has also been emphasised by Ganter[5] while dealing with the attribute exploration.

One could overlook significant parts of the logic content in formal context were it not for the consideration based on the GCL. Here, the formal context describing 3BS given in Table 1 suggests an extreme case where no implication of the type ArslB could be found. Nevertheless, one ends up, e.g., {a,b}fcl{a,b,c} (or {a,b}fcl{c}), whose meaning appears to be ambiguous. Though it is true that ababc, one also notices that (ab)R={a,b}I= as well as (abc)R={a,b,c}I =. Indeed, by using the above formula with the 1η provided in Fig. 2 it can be seen that ab1η𝟎 abc1η, hence it is ab𝟎 and abc𝟎 that underlies ababc.

Remarkably, the same formula will lead to (1) aa¬b¬c (or a¬b¬c) and (2) ¬b¬c¬b¬ca (or ¬b¬ca), where a, b and c can be interchanged. Hence, what one has captured from the 3BS are that (1) no two colours could coexist and that (2) there is no colour other than a, b and c. The two issues are certainly less trivial in the scopes of AfclB and ArslB.

Rules to assemble or transform implications

The rules to assemble or transform implications of type μν are of direct consequences of object set inclusion relations. Notably, some of these rules can be reduced to the Armstrong axioms, which pertain to the main considerations of Guigues and Duquenne[6] based on the non-redundant collection of informative implications acquired via FCL. In particular,

(1) μ1μ2 and ν1ν2  μ1ν1μ2ν2
since μ1Rμ2R and ν1Rν2R leads to μ1Rν1Rμ2Rν2R, i.e., (μ1ν1)R(μ2ν2)R.

In the case of μ1=A1, ν1=B1, μ2=A2 and ν2=B2, where A1,A2,B1,B2 are sets of attributes, the rule (1) can be re-expressed as Armstrong's composition:

(1') A1fclA2 and B1fclB2 A1B1fclA2B2
(A1)(B1)(A1B1) and (A2)(B2)(A2B2).

The Armstrong axioms are not suited for ArslB which requires AB. This is in contrast to AfclB for which Armstrong's reflexivity is implemented by AB. Nevertheless, a similar composition may occur but signify a different rule from (1). Note that one also arrives at

(2) (μ1μ2) and (ν1ν2)  (μ1+ν1μ2+ν2)
since μ1Rμ2R and ν1Rν2R  (μ1+ν1)R(μ2+ν2)R, which gives rise to
(2') A1rslA2 and B1rslB2 A1A2rslB1B2 whenever μ1=A1, ν1=B1, μ2=A2 and ν2=B2.

Example

For concreteness, consider the example depicted by Table 2, which has been originally adopted for clarification of the RSL[9] but worked out for the GCL.[4]

Table 2: Template:AnchorAn example formal context. Since the objects 3 and 4 are equipped with the same property, they belong to the same minimal discernible object set. One may choose D1={1}, D2={2}, D3={3,4}, D4={5} and D5={6}. Note that the fully extended version F(G,M) comprises 22|M|columns, where the cardinality of attribute set |M|=5. The table is huge, yet manageable when one deals with the GCL.
F(G,M) 2255 more columns
Template:Diagonal split header a b c d e ¬a+b ¬b a+¬c+d¬e
1 × × × × × ×
2 × × × ×
3 × × × ×
4 × × × ×
5 × × ×
6 × × × × ×

The GCL structure and the identifications of FCL and RSL on the GCL

  • The determinations of the nodes of GCL for Table 2 are straightforward, as is depicted in Fig.4. For example, one may read out Template:Anchor
    Fig. 4: Readout of GCL from a formal context. On each node, a binary string is to denote the extent, e.g., 01010 denotes the object set D2D4 i.e. {2,5}, 00100 denotes D3 i.e. {3,4}. In this figure, η({2,5}) and ρ({2,5}) are shown. Accordingly, one may identify all the lower and upper bounds of intents in the expressions the contextual truth and falsity (1η and 0ρ), respectively.
η({2,5}) =η(D2D4)=η(D2)+η(D4)=η({2})+η({5})=a¬bc¬d¬e+a¬b¬c¬d¬e=a¬b¬d¬e,
ρ({2,5})=¬η({1,3,4,6})=(¬a+b+¬c+¬d+¬e)(¬b+c+d+¬e),
η({3,4})=η(D3)=¬ab¬c¬de, and so forth.

Clearly, one may also check that

ρ({2,5})=¬η({1,3,4,6})=η({2,5})+0ρ

.

  • To rediscover the original FCL and RSL see Fig. 5. Observe, e.g.,
η({1,2,5,6})=a¬bcde+a¬bc¬d¬e+a¬b¬c¬d¬e+ab¬c¬de =a(¬b+e)(¬d+e)(¬b+¬c)(¬b+¬d)(b+c+¬e)(c+¬d)(b+d+¬e)(¬c+d+¬e),
ρ({1,2,5,6})=a+¬b+c+d+¬e=¬η({3,4}).

Within the expression of

η({1,2,5,6})

it can be seen that

aR={a}I={1,2,5,6}

, while within

ρ({1,2,5,6})

it can be seen

(a+c+d)R={a,c,d}={1,2,5,6}

. Therefore, one finds out the concepts

({1,2,5,6},{a})

for FCL and

({1,2,5,6},{a,c,d})

for RSL. By contrast,

η({1,6}) =ae(¬bcd+b¬c¬d), ρ({1,6})=d+ab+ce+¬be+¬a¬e

with

(ae)R={a,e}I ={1,6}

gives rise to the concept 

({1,6},{a,e})

for FCL however fails to provide an extent for RSL because

dR{d}={1}{1,6}

.Template:Anchor

The GCL constructed according to a formal context.
Fig. 5: The GCL constructed according to the formal context given in Table 2. The circled points are nodes existing on the FCL, whereas the bold ones belong to the RSL, also cf. Fig. 3.

Implication relations in general

  • The meanings of AfclB and ArslB are essentially different.
{c,d}fcl{a} and {c,d}rsl{a} denote cda and c+da, respectively.

For the present case, the above relations can be examined via the auxiliary formula:

cd1ηa1η (or cd+0ρa+0ρ), (c+d)1ηa1η (or c+d+0ρa+0ρ).
  • AfclB and ArslB are equivalent when both A and B are reduced to sets of single element.
Both {c}fcl{a} and {c}rsl{a}, according to the formal context of Table 2, are interpreted as ca, which means {c}fcl{a} based on {c}I{a}Iand {c}rsl{a} based on {c}{a}.

Note that

cR={c}I={c}={1,2} {1,2,5,6}=aR={a}I={a}

. Moreover,

ca

entails both

cca

and

c+aa

, which correspond to

{c}fcl{a,c}

and

{c,a}rsl{a}

, respectively.

  • The single formula suffices to generate all the informative implications, where one may choose any attribute in M as the antecedent or consequent.
(1) With μμ1η one may infer the properties of objects of interest from the condition 1η by specifying μ, thereby incorporating abundant informative implications as equivalent relations between any pair of attributes within the interval [μ1η,μ], i.e., μ1μ2 μ1μ2 if μ1ημ1μ and μ1ημ2μ. Note that μμ1η entails μμ1η since μ1ημ.

For instance, by

(c+d)1η =c1η =a¬bc(de+¬d¬e)

the relation

c+d a¬bc(de+¬d¬e)

is neither of the type

AfclB

nor of the type

ArslB

. Nevertheless, one may also derive, e.g.,

c+dc

,

c+da

and

cda

, which are

{c,d}rsl{c}

,

{c,d}rsl{a}

and

{c,d}fcl{a}

, respectively. As a further interesting implication

c+d¬b(de+¬d¬e)

entails

c+d¬b(ed)

by means of material implication. Namely, for the objects carrying the property

c

or

d

,

¬b

must hold and, in addition, objects carrying the property

e

must also carry the property

d

and vice versa.

(1') Alternatively, the equivalent formula μ+0ρμ can be employed to specify the objects of particular interest. In effect, μ1μ2 μ1μ2 if μμ1μ+0ρ and μμ2μ+0ρ.

One may be interested in the properties inferring a particular consequent, say,

ea

. Consider

μ:=¬e+a ea

giving rise to

μ+0ρ

=a+¬b+c+d+¬e

according to Table 2. Clearly, with

¬e+a μ1a+¬b+c+d+¬e

one has

μ1(ea)

. This gives rise to many possible antecedents such as

(ea+c+d)(ea)

,

(b(ea+c))(ea)

,

(e(ba+c))(ea)

,

(b(ea+c+d))(ea)

and so forth.

(2) 1η governs all the implications extractable from the formal context by means of (1) and (1'). Indeed, it plays the role of canonical basis with one single implication relation.

1η can be understood as 𝟏1η or equivalently 0ρ𝟎, which turns out be the only non-redundant implication one needs to deduce all the informative implications from any formal context. The basis 𝟏1η or 0ρ𝟎 suffices the deduction of all implications as follows. While μ 𝟏1ημμ1η and ν 0ρ𝟎ν+0ρν, choosing either μ=ρ(X) or ν=η(X) gives rise to ρ(X)η(X). Notably, this encompasses (1) and (1') by means of μ1ηη(μR)μ ρ(μR)μ+0ρ for any μ, where μR can be identified with some X corresponding to one of the 32 nodes on the GCL in Fig. 4.

ρ(X)η(X) develops equivalence, at each single node, for all attributes contained within the interval [η(X),ρ(X)]. Moreover, informative implications could also relate different nodes via Hypothetical syllogism by invoking tautology. Typically, μ1[X1]Fμ2[X2]F μ1μ2 whenever (X1,[X1]F) (X2,[X2]F). This corresponds to the cases considered in (1'): (bc)(ea), c(ea), ¬b(ea) etc. Explicitly, (bc)(ea) is based upon ¬b+c[{1,2,5}]F and ¬e+a[{1,2,5,6}]F where {1,2,5}{1,2,5,6}. Note that ¬b+cρ({1,2,5})η({1,2,5}) and ¬e+aρ({1,2,5,6})η({1,2,5,6}) while ρ({1,2,5})ρ({1,2,5,6}) (also η({1,2,5})η({1,2,5,6})). Therefore, (bc)(ea). Similarly, c[{1,2}]F with {1,2}{1,2,5,6} gives c(ea).

Indeed,

𝟏1η

or equivalently

0ρ𝟎

plays the role of canonical basis with one single implication relation.

References

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