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9.1 In-Line Mathematics

In-line mathematics is created using the math environment. (Note U.S. spelling -- “math” not “maths”).

Example:

The variable \begin{math}x\end{math} is transformed by the function \begin{math}f(x)\end{math}.

It's somewhat cumbersome having to type \begin{math} and \end{math} and it also makes the source code a little difficult to read so there are shorthand notations that can be used instead: \( is equivalent to \begin{math} and \) is equivalent to \end{math}. So the example above can be rewritten:

The variable \(x\) is transformed by the function \(f(x)\).

There is an even shorter notation: The special character $ is equivalent to both \begin{math} and \end{math}:

The variable $x$ is transformed by the function $f(x)$.

This is considerably easier to type and to read, but you need to make sure that all your $ symbols have matching pairs. The above code will look like:

Image showing typeset output (click here for a more detailed description).

The other advantage in using $ over \( and \) is that $ is a robust command, whereas \( and \) are fragile commands and will need to be protected if they occur in a moving argument.

Note: you should always make sure you are in maths mode to typeset any variables (such as $ x$ , $ y$ , $ z$ ), as this will ensure that the correct maths fonts are used, as well as the appropriate spacing. Similarly, don't use $ as a short cut for an italic font.

Notice the $difference$ between $(x', y', z')$ and \textit{(x', y', z')}.

Image of result: the brackets are upright in the
maths font but slanted in the italic font. The apostrophe becomes a
prime in the maths font. The spacing is also
different.


This book is also available as A4 PDF or 12.8cm x 9.6cm PDF or paperback (ISBN 978-1-909440-00-5).

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