The local-to-global principle for triangulated categories via dimension functions

We formulate a general abstract criterion for verifying the local-to-global principle for a rigidly-compactly generated tensor triangulated category. Our approach is based upon an inductive construction using dimension functions. Using our criterion we give a new proof of the theorem that the local-to-global principle holds for such categories when they have a model and the spectrum of the compacts is noetherian. As further applications we give a new set of conditions on the spectrum of the compacts that guarantee the local-to-global principle holds and use this to classify localising subcategories in the derived category of a semi-artinian absolutely flat ring.