Steve Litt wrote:
Hi all,
If I were to write an algebra textbook, on non-division equations, am I better
off using math mode (which seems very slow to author, if U ask me), or should
I use Lyx-Code and write the equations like you'd write them as source code?
I think you are missing something. In math mode, if you type in the
code (TeX code, which is what I presume you mean), it comes out looking
properly. You do not have to use the menus, and in fact I recommend you
reserve those for things that you don't recall the code for, or which
are messy to code in (like matrices, large delimiters, etc.). You want
a fraction, type in \frac As soon as you enter a space, it displays
properly. \alpha works the same way.
LyX code is a text format, to display such things as lines of computer
code. Line breaks and spacing are, necessarily, displayed verbatim.
TeX code (ERT) is what you probably are thinking of, but math-mode is
much more efficient. I type a lot of mathematics, and math-mode is a
godsend.
Speaking of that, what should I use as a multiplication symbol -- x, X, *, or
something else?
In math mode, use \times. You do not want students thinking that an x
is multiplication, seeing as how x is also a variable. Algebra seems to
be confusing enough. You can also use \cdot to get a centered dot to
denote multiplication.
--
David L. Johnson
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by
little statesmen and philosophers and divines." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
