Calculi of string diagrams are increasingly used to present the syntax and
algebraic structure of various families of circuits, including signal flow
graphs, electrical circuits and quantum processes. In many such approaches, the
semantic interpretation for diagrams is given in terms of relations or
corelations (generalised equivalence relations) of some kind. In this paper we
show how semantic categories of both relations and corelations can be
characterised as colimits of simpler categories. This modular perspective is
important as it simplifies the task of giving a complete axiomatisation for
semantic equivalence of string diagrams. Moreover, our general result unifies
various theorems that are independently found in literature and are relevant
for program semantics, quantum computation and control theory.Comment: 22 pages + 3 page appendix, extended version of arXiv:1703.0824
