### Categories Great and Small

What is the most trivial type of category?

The one with no objects and therefore no morphisms.

What is an example process of converting a directed graph to a category?

Starting with a directed graph as follows:

graph LR; A --> B; B --> C; C --> D; D --> E;

It can be transformed into a category. The way of doing this is to start with adding the identity arrows at each node in the directed graph.

graph LR; A --> B; B --> C; C --> D; D --> E; A --id--> A; B --id--> B; C --id--> C; D --id--> D; E --id--> E;

After adding the identity arrows, composition arrows can be created. Composition arrows can be created between any two arrows where the end of one arrow coincides with the beginning of the other. Some of the composition arrows that can be created in this directed graph are as follows:

Composition arrow from Node A to Node C

graph LR; A --> B; B --> C; C --> D; D --> E; A --> C; A --id--> A; B --id--> B; C --id--> C; D --id--> D; E --id--> E;

Composition arrow from Node B to Node D

graph LR; A --> B; B --> C; C --> D; D --> E; B --> D; A --id--> A; B --id--> B; C --id--> C; D --id--> D; E --id--> E;

Composition arrow from Node C to Node E

graph LR; A --> B; B --> C; C --> D; D --> E; C --> E; A --id--> A; B --id--> B; C --id--> C; D --id--> D; E --id--> E;

This next arrow also shows the composition of all compositions previously made. It looks like an arrow from node A to E but is composed of the arrows made before:

graph LR; A --> B; B --> C; C --> D; D --> E; A --> E; A --id--> A; B --id--> B; C --id--> C; D --id--> D; E --id--> E;

Furthermore, there can be near infinite compositions between each of these nodes. The compositions shown above were examples of some of the compositions that could be made using the morphisms and nodes found in a directed graph.

How is a free category made through free construction?

A free category is created through free construction where a starting structure is extended with the minimum number of items to satisfy the laws of a category. One example is the identity condition.

What is an example of a preorder set being a category?

Say we have the preorder set statement: $A \leq B \leq C$ To show that this is in fact a qualified category, we must prove the identity and composition requirements of a category. Visualizing this, we can have the graph representation of the statement:

graph LR; A --<=--> B; B --<=--> C;

To prove the identity condition, we can state the following identity statements:

$A \leq A$

$B \leq B$

$C \leq C$

So in this case, identity arrows can be created using this fact:

graph LR; A --<=--> B; B --<=--> C; A --<=--> A; B --<=--> B; C --<=--> C;

To prove compositionality, given the statements $A \leq B$ and $B \leq C$, it follows that $A \leq C$. In this case, $A \leq C$ is the composition of the two prior statements. With having demonstrated the identity and compositionality of a preorder, a preorder is a type of category.

How can you create a partial order relation?

If the statements $A \leq B$ and $B \leq A$ exist in an order, then it can be said that $A = B$.

By enforcing the condition that any two objects are related to one another, what sort of order is created?

A linear or total order.

What is a thin category?

A category where there is at most one morphism between object $A$ and object $B$.

The set of morphisms from any object $A$ to any object $B$ in a category $C$ is called a what?

A hom-set and is denoted as $C(A, B)$ or as $\textbf{Hom}_{C}(A, B)$.

What are examples of Monoids?

Addition and multiplication form a monoid. Additional examples include:

• Natural numbers

• Strings

• Lists

What is a Monoid?

A set with a binary operation. This binary operation must:

1. Be associative

2. Contains one element that acts as a unit

The element in $2$, is also referred to as a neutral element.

How are natural numbers a monoid?

Natural numbers can be classified as monoids as they are associative. Consider three natural numbers, $a$, $b$, and $c$ and add them together:

$(a + b) + c = a + (b + c)$

Furthermore, the neutral element provided in natural numbers is the value, $0$:

$0 + a = a$

How can you prove that strings are monoids?

Using the following definitions, we can create a proof by example:

# String definitions
a = "foo"
b = "baz"
c = "bar"

"bar"


Associative proof by example:

(a * b) * c == a * (b * c)

true


Neutral element example:

a * "" == a

true


How can a monoid be a single object category?

A monoid is classified as a single object category as every monoid can be described as a single object category with a corresponding set of morphisms, the hom-set $\textbf{M}(m, m)$, where $\textbf{M}$ is the category defined by the monoid and $m$ is the single object. The binary operator in this set can be defined as the monoidal product of two set-elements.

For example, given two elements from $\textbf{M}(m, m)$, $f$ and $g$, the product of these elements will be the composition $f \circ g$. This works as the source and the target for the morphisms are always the same object, $m$. As a result, it is always possible to return a set monoid from a category monoid.

#### Challenges

1. Generate a free category from:

1. A graph with one node and no edges

2. A graph with one node and one (directed) edge (hint: this edge can be composed with itself)

3. A graph with two nodes and a single arrow between them

4. A graph with a single node and 26 arrows marked with the letters of the alphabet: a, b, c … z.

For 1.1, the answer can look like this:

graph LR; A --id--> A;

For 1.2, there are infinitely many compositions made alongside the identity arrow. The reason for this is that by the typical definition of a graph's edge, an edge must have two endpoints. In this case, the directed edge's starting point and end point are the same node. These edges can be composed infinitely and be valid morphisms of the object (the single node) as they will always start and end at the same object in this category.

For 1.3, the answer could look like this:

graph LR; A --> B; A --id--> A; B --id--> B;

For 1.4, the answer is similar to 1.2's answer as again, there will be infinitely many compositions made alongside the identity arrow. Unlike 1.2, the arrows given here are concrete instead of abstract. For example, using just the letter $a$, the category could start looking like this:

graph TD; A --id--> A; A --a--> A; A --aa--> A; A --aaa--> A; A --aaaa--> A; A --aaaaa--> A;

Furthermore, as these arrows are composable, they can also start creating compositions which look like this:

graph TD; A --id--> A; A --a--> A; A --ab--> A; A --abc--> A; A --abcd--> A; A --abcde--> A;
1. What kind of order is this?

1. A set of sets with the inclusion relation: $A$ is included in $B$ if every element of $A$ is also an element of $B$.

2. C++ types with the following subtyping relation: T1 is a subtype of T2 if a pointer to T1 can be passed to a function that expects a pointer to T2 without triggering a compilation error.

For 2.1, this kind of order is known as a partial order.

Skipped 2.2

1. Considering that Bool is a set of two values True and False, show that it forms two (set-theoretical) monoids with respect to, respectively, operator && (AND) and || (OR).

Let a, b, c, be of type Bool:

a = true
b = true
c = true

true


We can show the associative property of these two operators as follows:

a && (b && c) == (a && b) && c
a || (b || c) == (a || b) || c

true


Monoid around &&:

a && true == a
true && a == a

true

a && false != a
false && a != a

false


Monoid around ||:

a || true == a
true || a == a

true

a || false == a
false || a == a

true

1. Represent the Bool monoid with the AND operator as a category:

List the morphisms and their rules of composition.

a = Bool

Bool

#= Morphisms =#

# Identity Morphism
a && true == a

# Commutative Morphism
a ∘ a == a

graph TD; a --true--> a; a --AND--> a;
1. Represent addition modulo 3 as a monoid category.

Skipped