Relation algebras and function semigroups

The concept of relation algebra unifies many familiar notions from algebra (especially those of systems having “natural” models as groups, Boolean algebras etc.). The fundamental theorem on relation algebras asserts the existence of simple conditions which characterize any given class of relation algebras. The idea of relation algebra is very useful for the study of function and transformation semigroups, which is the central part of the theory of semigroups. It provides a general outlook, permits one to formulate many natural problems, and ensures that these problems possess non-trivial solutions. A number of examples illustrate this point.