|  |  C.4 Characteristic sets 
Let  be the lexicographical ordering on ![$R=K[x_1,...,x_n]$](sing_673.png) with  .
For  let lvar(  ) (the leading variable of  ) be the largest
variable in  ,
i.e., if  for some  then lvar  . 
Moreover, let
ini
 . The pseudoremainder  of  with respect to  is
defined by the equality  with  and  minimal. 
A set 
 is called triangular if  . Moreover, let  ,
then  is called a triangular system, if  is a triangular set
such that  does not vanish on  . 
 is called irreducible if for every  there are no  ,  ,  such that 
 
 
 
 
 Furthermore,
  is called irreducible if  is irreducible. 
The main result on triangular sets is the following: Let
 , then there are irreducible triangular sets  such that  where  . Such a set  is called an irreducible characteristic series of
the ideal  . 
 
Example:|  |   ring R= 0,(x,y,z,u),dp;
  ideal i=-3zu+y2-2x+2,
          -3x2u-4yz-6xz+2y2+3xy,
          -3z2u-xu+y2z+y;
  print(char_series(i));
==> _[1,1],3x2z-y2+2yz,3x2u-3xy-2y2+2yu,
==> x,     -y+2z,      -2y2+3yu-4       
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