Operation

The word operation can mean any of several things:

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• The method, act, process, or effect of using a device or system. See military operations, manufacturing operations, anomalous operation.
• In medicine, a surgical procedure to diagnose, cure or palliate a certain disease.
• In mathematics, an operation is an action applied to (one or more, but usually finitely many) numbers or other mathematical entities (e.g., vectors) to produce a well-defined result. Examples include addition, multiplication, root extraction, and comparison. See unary operation, binary operation, arity.
• In computer programming, a program step, usually specified by a part of an instruction word, that is undertaken or executed by a computer. Logical operations such as And, Or and Not are also operations typically performed by devices known as logic gates.
• In music a basic operation is one which may be performed on a set of pitches or pitch classes, including transposition, inversion, and multiplication. These may be combined to form compound operations, and inversion may be more accurately thought of as the compound operation transpositional inversion. See: transformation, permutation, counterpoint.
• If something happens by operation of law, then it occurs automatically based on circumstances not intended by the affected parties.
• The tactical shooting PC game Operation Flashpoint.
• The game of physical skill, Operation.
• In business, an organizational unit or set of procedures and processes that lead to business outcomes. See Business Operations
• In law enforcement a sting operation can be used to catch a law breaker in the act.