Notational conventions
Notation | Explanation |
---|---|
bold |
|
italics |
Indicates the first occurrence of a new term, titles of documents or topics, and user-supplied or variable values. |
|
Indicates code, commands, file paths, or other text that should be displayed in a fixed-width font to differentiate it from the surrounding text. |
|
Indicates user-supplied or variable values in code, commands, file paths, or other text that should be displayed in a monospace font. Can also refer to generic types. For example: |
\(\text{string_in_math_notation}\) |
A normal (non-italics) serif typeface indicates a fixed element or constant specified in mathematical notation. |
… |
An ellipsis indicates that the preceding element can repeat multiple times. |
[item, …] |
Square brackets indicate that the enclosed items are optional. Also can indicate a range of numbers, where the enclosed items are included. For example, in [0,100], 0 and 100 are part of the specified range. |
(item1, item2) |
Parentheses indicate a range of numbers, where the enclosed items are not included. For example, in (0,100), 0 and 100 are not part of the specified range. |
item1 | item2 |
A vertical bar (|) indicates a choice between item1 and item2. |
{item1, item2} |
Curly brackets indicates a list or set of possible values. |
/ |
A forward slash indicates a division operator or a path separator in URLs and file paths. |