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Discussion Thread: # math notation on MMB   [#24473] / anouar-03@/ FAQ
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The Question by FAQ :
2003-01-22 at 06:36GMT

How to Input Mathematical Symbols on the Math Message Board (MMB)

MMB provides a variety of methods to input math notation:

  • plain text
  • HTML and symbol tags
  • LaTeX

Each of these methods is explained below.

Method #1: Plain Text

The plain-text method is easiest to use, but complex math expressions can become awkward to read and write.

x^2 + a_3 + sqrt(2) + (1 + 2)/(2 + 3) + exp(5).

Some conventions are commonly used. The carrot "^" symbol represents an exponent. Square roots can be represented as the function sqrt. Subscripts can use "_" as in ln_10(x). In order to make yourself clear, be careful about the order of operations, and use parenthesis to avoid ambiguities. This is a common mistake. For example, the above expression is not equivalent to

x^2 + a_3 + sqrt(2) + 1 + 2/2 + 3 + exp(5).

Method #2: HTML and Symbol Tags

The second method is to use HTML and special symbol tags. This can make you math notation a little prettier.

A variety of symbols are available for use. For your convenience, a list of these symbols is available in green box of symbols near the bottom of the posting page. Here's how all the symbols look:

Greek Letters:
[alpha] [alpha] [Alpha] [Alpha] [beta] [beta] [Beta] [Beta]
[gamma] [gamma] [Gamma] [Gamma] [delta] [delta] [Delta] [Delta]
[epsilon] [epsilon] [Epsilon] [Epsilon] [zeta] [zeta] [Zeta] [Zeta]
[eta] [eta] [Eta] [Eta] [theta] [theta] [Theta] [Theta]
[iota] [iota] [Iota] [Iota] [kappa] [kappa] [Kappa] [Kappa]
[lambda] [lambda] [Lambda] [Lambda] [mu] [mu] [Mu] [Mu]
[nu] [nu] [Nu] [Nu] [xi] [xi] [Xi] [Xi]
[omicron] [omicron] [Omicron] [Omicron] [pi] [pi] [Pi] [Pi]
[rho] [rho] [Rho] [Rho] [sigma] [sigma] [Sigma] [Sigma]
[tau] [tau] [Tau] [Tau] [upsilon] [upsilon] [Upsilon] [Upsilon]
[phi] [phi] [Phi] [Phi] [chi] [chi] [Chi] [Chi]
[psi] [psi] [Psi] [Psi] [omega] [omega] [Omega] [Omega]
Symbols:
[d_dx] [d_dx] [inf] [inf] [integral] [integral] [pder] [pder]
[product] [product] [sqrt] [sqrt] [sum] [sum]

To use these symbols in your posting, just type the symbol name enclosed in brackets. For Greek letters, use uppercase letters to get the uppercase version and lowercase letters to get the lower case version.

For example, the following

cos [pi]/4 = [sqrt](2) / 2

will look like

cos [pi]/4 = [sqrt](2) / 2

Here's a more complicated example:

lim [sum] f([Xi]) [delta] x = [integral] f(x) dx,

which will look like

lim [sum] f([Xi]) [delta] x = [integral] f(x) dx,

Superscipts (or exponents) and subscripts can be made as such

x^{3} + a_{1} + y^{x^{2k}+1}

which displays as

x3 + a1,2 + yx2k+1

You can alternately make super- and sub-scripts with HTML SUP and SUB tags, but that is more awkward to write.

If you know HTML, you may use certain HTML tags, such as links, tables, and formatting. Don't even try any fancy JavaScript or stuff like that.

Method #3: LaTeX

MMB also supports a much more powerful LaTeX math syntax, but it you'll have to first learn some of the syntax. LaTeX is a standard, widely used text notation for entering math notation on computers. This text notation can be rendered into high quality mathematical images. LaTeX notation can be embedding into MMB message by enclosing it inside pairs of \) and \( delimiters or between pairs of \[ and \] delimiters. The only difference between the two is that the former is used to place math notation inline to surrounding text, while the latter is used to set-off the math notation from surrounding text. Refer to one of the many resources on the web about the LaTeX math notation. If you see any LaTeX math notation used on one of the MMB messages and would like to know how the author inputted it, click on the "View Source" button on the bottom of the thread. (Special note to LaTeX experts: only math mode is supported.)

Here's one example:

\[ \frac{1}{x+2} + \sqrt{3} - \int_1^x x_2^3 \, dx \]

which looks like

\[ \frac{1}{x+2} + \sqrt{3} - \int_1^x x_2^3 \, dx \]

Alternately, the following

\( \frac{1}{x+2} + \sqrt{3} - \int_1^x x_2^3 \, dx \)

looks like

\( \frac{1}{x+2} + \sqrt{3} - \int_1^x x_2^3 \, dx \)

If you don't wish to become an expert in LaTeX syntax, and you would rather have a GUI with an equation palette similar to MS Equation editor to help you create the LaTeX syntax, then the TeXaideTM (http://www.dessci.com/en/products/TeXaide/) program is recommended for download. This program is free (well, they do want your e-mail address), and it runs on Windows (it may work on Windows emulators too if Windows is not your OS). If you use Linux/Unix/etc., then LaTeX may already be installed.

Here's some useful LaTeX math references:

Only the default LaTeX packages and the amsmath packes are supported. See http://www.ams.org/tex/amsmath.html for information on amsmath.

On some browsers (e.g. recent versions of Mozilla and IE), if you put your keyboard cursor over a LaTeX expression and press the CTRL+0 key combination (i.e. hold down the CTRL key while pressing the zero key), then a preview of that LaTeX expression will instantly render at the bottom of your message composition box. This can be a much quicker method of previewing math expressions than doing a full message preview.

Other Syntax

If you need to write HTML or text directly without having MMB autoformatting interfere, you may surround such text with \begin{rawhtml} ... \end{rawhtml} and \begin{rawtext} ... \end{rawtext} tags respectively. For example,

\begin{rawhtml}This is <b>bold</b>.\end{rawhtml}

displays as

This is bold.

Furthermore,

\begin{rawtext}if(x&lt;2 &amp;&amp; y&gt;3) {break;}\end{rawtext}

displays as

if(x<2 && y>3) {break;}

Additional Notes

Q: Can I export LaTeX from Mathematica and upload it to MMB?

A: Apparently not. The LaTeX exported from Mathematica references its own packages, which are not accessable as is from MMB. The possibility of installing Mathematica packages on MMB has not been explored.

Q: What math notation editing software is available?

A:

  • TeXaideTM (http://www.dessci.com/en/products/TeXaide/)
    - WYSIWYG editor for LaTeX. Easy to use. Windows only.
  • texmacs (http://www.texmacs.org/)
    - If you use Emacs
  • Lyx (http://www.lyx.org)
    - Editor, not just for LaTeX.
    - This takes some work to get installed under Windows OSs. Works great under UNIX-based OSs.
  • teTeX (http://www.tug.org/teTeX/)
    - Command-line utilities for compiling LaTeX to PS, PDF, and other formats.
    - Note: This can easily be install from the setup program under Cygwin (www.cygwin.com) under Windows. A LaTeX distribution is often preinstalled on UNIX and UNIX-like OSs.

Last updated: 2003-09-22, david manura.

Comments: more work may need to be done on this article. Please post any comments below, in which case I'll incorporate your comments into the text above and then remove the original comments. Some additional methods of inputting math notation and images are under discussion. These methods may be added to MMB in the future.

A Response by Chris Trommater :
2003-06-03 at 23:19GMT

Perhaps the HTML Esacpe codes deserve a short peice.  eg

&int;3&middot;x&sup2;dx=x&sup3;&plusmn;c is ∫3·x&sup2;dx=x&sup3;±c.

There is a complete list available here Notetips.com.
A Response by David Manura :
2003-09-23 at 02:14GMT

I believe some people have reported problems when viewing certain escape codes.  For example, the above escape codes view fine under Mozilla/Linux, but the integral sign displays as a dotted square under Konqueror/Linux.  The recommended, and quite general, way of writing super- and subscripts is with a syntax such as "x^{3} + a_{1}", which displays as x3 + a1.
A Response by Lazinsky :
2003-11-28 at 22:41GMT

There is a free Formula inserter at:
http://www.mathyards.com/free.htm
a java applet that works in the same way as Ms-equation in Microsoft word.

A Response by David Manura :
2003-12-11 at 01:17GMT

Upon request, I'd like to point out how to display comparison operators using HTML character entities:

  < > ≤ ≥ ≠

I've also noted the above Java applet.  I don't see a place to download the source code, and that would be a requirement to host it on this site.  I've looked at WebEq (http://www.dessci.com/en/) and HotEqn (http://www.esr.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/VCLab/software/HotEqn/HotEqn.html) as other Java-based client-side math notation editing solutions, and we actually used WebEq a few years ago (neither provide source code, and WebEq proved inadequate at the time).  For now, pressing "CTRL+zero" on an LaTeX equation will immediately render a preview, and this provides more of a client-side editing effect using our existing server-side LaTeX rendering (albeit it does not have the MS Equation Editor like symbol palette and is not really intended as a solution for beginners.

A Response by David Manura :
2005-10-29 at 22:37GMT

additional notes:
supported latex packages are amsmath, amscd, amsxtra, amssymb, cancel.
A Response by shalawasmith :
2009-07-20 at 19:48GMT

(3.206)=3,206x10 3 (ten to the third power)scientific notation
A Response by hoda :
2015-12-22 at 02:44GMT

Hi Robbie,How difficult was the tsfrnaerring process? Have been thinking about this for a while myself. Getting very tired of Blogger. (Like the look of the new site.)Looking forward to your talks next week.A
A Response by Vitalie Ghelbert :
2024-08-21 at 18:07GMT

 Cat formula

\( \sum\limits_{i=0}^{\infty} 0 = \underbrace{0 + 0 + \cdots + 0}_{1 + \infty} = 0 \cdot (1 + \infty) = 0 \)

 Estimation

\( \overset{\overset{\infty}\circ}\pi_{\bigcirc} \sim \frac{8}{n^2} \cdot \sum\limits_{i=0}^{n} H_i \)
\( H_i = \sqrt{i \cdot (n - i)} \)


A Response by Vitalie Ghelbert :
2024-08-25 at 17:40GMT

 Update

 Cat formula

\( \Large \sum\limits_{i=0}^{\infty} 0 = \underbrace{0 + 0 + \cdots + 0}_{1 + \infty} = 0 \cdot (1 + \infty) = 0 \)

 Estimation

\( \Large \overset{\overset{\infty}\circ}\pi_{\bigcirc} \sim \frac{8}{n^2} \cdot \sum\limits_{i=0}^{n} H_i \)
\( \Large H_i = \sqrt{i \cdot (n - i)} \)
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