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The empty set is the unique initial object in Set, the category of sets. Every one-element set is a terminal object in this category; there are no zero objects. Similarly, the empty space is the unique initial object in Top, the category of topological spaces and every one-point space is a terminal object in this category.
Let C be a category with finite products and a terminal object 1. A list object over an object A of C is: an object L A, a morphism o A : 1 → L A, and; a morphism s A : A × L A → L A; such that for any object B of C with maps b : 1 → B and t : A × B → B, there exists a unique f : L A → B such that the following diagram commutes:
initial 1. An object A is initial if there is exactly one morphism from A to each object; e.g., empty set in Set. 2. An object A in an ∞-category C is initial if (,) is contractible for each object B in C. injective 1.
The empty set (considered as a topological space) is the initial object of Top; any singleton topological space is a terminal object. There are thus no zero objects in Top. The product in Top is given by the product topology on the Cartesian product. The coproduct is given by the disjoint union of topological spaces.
The empty set serves as the initial object in Set with empty functions as morphisms. Every singleton is a terminal object, with the functions mapping all elements of the source sets to the single target element as morphisms. There are thus no zero objects in Set. The category Set is complete and co-complete.
In computer programming, lazy initialization is the tactic of delaying the creation of an object, the calculation of a value, or some other expensive process until the first time it is needed.
The point is the empty list, and the function is cons, taking a number and a finite list, and returning a new finite list with the number at the head. In categories with binary coproducts, the definitions just given are equivalent to the usual definitions of a natural number object and a list object, respectively.
The empty set (considered as a preordered set) is the initial object of Ord, and the terminal objects are precisely the singleton preordered sets.