Aggregation

In economics, aggregation is any attempt to bypass information asymmetry by systematically amassing information about prices and other features of goods on the market. Shop bots are a commercial example of aggregation in action.

In biology the term is applied to fish, birds and insects and describes a gathering of animals of the same size and body orientation, often cruising in the same direction. See schooling.

In object-oriented programming, aggregation is a special form of association.

See also traffic aggregation in telecommunications.