{"id":9883,"date":"2015-01-05T10:45:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-05T10:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/tautology\/"},"modified":"2015-01-05T10:45:27","modified_gmt":"2015-01-05T10:45:27","slug":"tautology","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology","title":{"rendered":"Tautology"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does Tautology Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Tautology is a type of logic construct that can be applied in IT. It refers to a redundant logic wherein a principle is restated or is evident in its expression.<\/p>\n

Techopedia Explains Tautology<\/span><\/h2>\n

In some cases, tautology can be applied to certain types of computer science or programming principles. For instance, a computer design can be built to review "tautology checking." Code modules are written to test whether all of the criteria for tautology are present, in order to determine whether an object constitutes a tautology.<\/p>\n

The use of tautology and tautology checking is an example of the intersection between computer programming and higher mathematics. Because computer programming is built on a rigid syntax in order to communicate with the hard logic of a machine’s language, programmers and engineers often discuss concepts in terms of higher mathematical principles and equations. Using conventions like tautology shows how the algorithms of today’s technologies are reminiscent of the complex equations that mathematicians have always done cognitively in the human brain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Does Tautology Mean? Tautology is a type of logic construct that can be applied in IT. It refers to a redundant logic wherein a principle is restated or is evident in its expression. Techopedia Explains Tautology In some cases, tautology can be applied to certain types of computer science or programming principles. For instance, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[241,216],"class_list":["post-9883","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-computer-science","definitioncat-software-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Tautology? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Tautology and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tautology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Tautology and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Tautology\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-05T10:45:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology\"},\"wordCount\":176,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/22478\/tautology\",\"name\":\"What is Tautology? 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