Connectedness, path connectedness, and uniform connectedness are well-known
concepts. In the traditional presentation of these concepts there is a
substantial difference between connectedness and the other two notions, namely
connectedness is defined as the absence of disconnectedness, while path
connectedness and uniform connectedness are defined in terms of connecting
paths and connecting chains, respectively. In compact metric spaces uniform
connectedness and connectedness are well-known to coincide, thus the apparent
conceptual difference between the two notions disappears. Connectedness in
topological spaces can also be defined in terms of chains governed by open
coverings in a manner that is more reminiscent of path connectedness. We
present a unifying metric formalism for connectedness, which encompasses both
connectedness of topological spaces and uniform connectedness of uniform
spaces, and which further extends to a hierarchy of notions of connectedness
