Combinatorial Route to Algebra: The Art of Composition & Decomposition

We consider a general concept of composition and decomposition of objects, and discuss a few natural properties one may expect from a reasonable choice thereof. It will be demonstrated how this leads to multiplication and co- multiplication laws, thereby providing a generic scheme furnishing combinatorial classes with an algebraic structure. The paper is meant as a gentle introduction to the concepts of composition and decomposition with the emphasis on combinatorial origin of the ensuing algebraic constructions.