Matroids are a common generalization of linearly independent sets and independent sets in graphs. Among other applications, they are exactly the simplical complexes in which the greedy algorithm outputs the optimal solution. Matroids are also studied for their own sake.
A Matroid is a structure that abstracts and generalizes the notion of linear independence in vector spaces. There are many equivalent ways to define a matroid axiomatically, the most significant being in terms of: independent sets; bases or circuits; rank functions; closure operators; and closed sets or flats. In the language of partially ordered sets, a finite matroid is equivalent to a geometric lattice.
Matroid theory borrows extensively from the terminology of linear algebra and graph theory, largely because it is the abstraction of various notions of central importance in these fields. Matroids have found applications in geometry, topology, combinatorial optimization, network theory and coding theory
