Carl-
The $ and \[ notation are used by TeX and LaTeX for formatting math. The
symbol $ some-math-stuff $ typesets the math between the two dollar signs as
mathematics in the current line of text. Using double dollar signs $$mathy
stuff$$ typesets the mathematics as a centered formula on its own line. This
notation has been incorporated into Lon-Capa:
<m>$ formula $</m> displays the math inline, both on the web and in the
generated PDF document. <m>$$ formula $$</m> creates a centered formula both
on the web and in the PDF.
The symbols \( formula \) creates inline math, and \[ formula \] creates a
centered formula. They are almost equivalent. In "A Guide to LaTeX" by Helmut
Kopka and Patrick W. Daly, they explain the difference between the symbols.
(page 118)
"\( is fragile and $ is robust"
Elsewhere in the book they explain "fragile" and "robust." (page 23)
"The influence of certain commands is not limited to the place where they
appear but may also affect other parts of the document. For example, the
sectioning commands, such as \chapter{heading}, generate the headings not only
at the point where they are issued but also possibly at the top of each of the
following pages in a different typeface, and perhaps once again, in yet another
typeface, in the table of contents. Such an argument that appears at several
places in the document is called a moving argument .
"Moving arguments can create problems if they contain commands that are
prematurely interpreted before they are finally applied. Such commands are
said to be fragile, while others that can withstand moving are called robust.
A fragile command can still be safely used within a moving argument if it is
preceded by \protect."
I don't know whether the 'fragile' and 'robust' qualities of \( and $ have any
bearing within Lon-Capa, but I have always used <m>$ formula $</m> and <m>$$
formula $$</m> with the expected results.
For what it's worth, I often have 3 reference books nearby as I'm working on LC
authoring: Perl, HTML, and LaTeX. ;-)
I hope this helps.
Rex Abert
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Tallahassee Community College
________________________________________
From: lon-capa-users-boun...@mail.lon-capa.org
[lon-capa-users-boun...@mail.lon-capa.org] on behalf of Carl Lira
[l...@egr.msu.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, December 2, 2015 3:08 PM
To: 'Discussion list for LON-CAPA users'
Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] FW: printing of math
OK, this seems to occur with the 'simple course page'.
I created a 'Blank Web Page' and copied/pasted my html code from the 'simple
course page', and the pdf rendered fine (using $).
I still would like a good explanation of $ and \[.
-----Original Message-----
From: lon-capa-users-boun...@mail.lon-capa.org
[mailto:lon-capa-users-boun...@mail.lon-capa.org] On Behalf Of Carl Lira
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2015 2:53 PM
To: 'Discussion list for LON-CAPA users' <lon-capa-users@mail.lon-capa.org>
Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] FW: printing of math
Hmm, I removed the $ before I send my inquiry. I could not recall why I had
them inserted, so I removed them and it did not work with or without the $ -
documentation needs to be improved about the function/need of the $ and \[
variants. I also tried using \[ and \], and that did not work either. Maybe
something with my math rendering settings (currently set to MathJax)?
This error is on a simple web page (I don't see a capability to envoke the
mathjax editor on a simple web page). I manually inserted the <m> and/or $
\[ so the equation occurs within the <p> tag. I tried changing the spacing
also in the event that a space was needed before/after the $ but that did
not help.
Can someone give me a good explanation of $ and \[?
Carl Lira
-----Original Message-----
From: lon-capa-users-boun...@mail.lon-capa.org
[mailto:lon-capa-users-boun...@mail.lon-capa.org] On Behalf Of Peter Dencker
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2015 10:42 AM
To: Discussion list for LON-CAPA users <lon-capa-users@mail.lon-capa.org>
Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] FW: printing of math
OK, the inconsistency is the point. Now, the question arises how to fix.
In the interests of backward compatibility I would prefer that once working
problems should also in the future...
- Peter
On 12/02/2015 04:25 PM, Damien Guillaume wrote:
>> Why it is a bug? It seems to be import to distinguish between
>>
>> <m> $ \widetilde{\nu}=1/\lambda $ </m> or <m> \(
>> \widetilde{\nu}=1/\lambda \) </m>
>>
>> and, on the other hand,
>>
>> <m> \[ \widetilde{\nu}=1/\lambda \] </m>
>
> The current behavior, with MathJax displaying equations as if there
> were $ delimiters while other renderers do not, is a bug because it
> leads to errors. I am not suggesting we remove delimiters at this
> point: the easiest fix (which is probably what we will do if it is not
> already
> done) is to make MathJax display fail when it is missing $ delimiters.
> It makes sense especially since MathJax only supports equations, while
> <m> is supposed to handle LaTeX outside of equation delimiters.
>
> In the future I think we should move away from non-math LaTeX (which
> would reduce this problem), but that is another topic of discussion.
>
> Damien
> _______________________________________________
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> LON-CAPA-users@mail.lon-capa.org
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--
Dr. Peter Dencker
wissenschaftl. Mitarbeiter
UNIVERSITÄT ZU LÜBECK
INSTITUT FÜR MATHEMATIK
Ratzeburger Allee 160
23562 Lübeck
Tel +49 451 500 4254
Fax +49 451 500 3373
denc...@math.uni-luebeck.de
www.math.uni-luebeck.de
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