Definition of "nondeterminism" in English

noun

1. (philosophy) The opposite of determinism: the doctrine that there are factors other than the state and immutable laws of the universe involved in the unfolding of events, such as free will.

2. (computing) Dependence on factors other than initial state and input.

   • Moving from a single-processor to a multi-processor system often exposes hidden nondeterminism due to invalid assumptions about scheduling.

3. (computer science) The property of being nondeterministic, involving arbitrary choices; necessitating the choice between various indistinguishable possibilities.

   • Projection of an automaton almost always results in nondeterminism.