Help:Contents

Have a Question? If you still need help or just want to ask a general question about ProofWiki editing please post it on the questions page.

Editing help? Need help editing a page? Check the editing help page.

FAQs For a list of Frequently Asked Questions, check the FAQ page.

General Guidelines for Posting a Proof

When posting a new proof there are some basic guidelines we ask that you adhere to to ensure the clarity and quality of the post.

Any new post should contain a brief description of the purpose and use of the proof, and should also include the proof itself. If there is a related proof or method please link to it and describe the relation. Please make the title clear to help facilitate searches and please try to ensure accuracy. Please do not submit copyrighted work without permission.

Have something that you think should be added but don't know how to prove yourself? Add it to this page. Please note, however, that ProofWiki is a compendium of proofs, not an online math help service.

Generally pages follow this format:

== Theorem ==

State the theorem here.


== Proof ==

State the proof here.


== Also see ==

* List of (internal) links to closely related material.


== Sources ==

Add citations here.

[[Category:The Category]]

How to write a mathematical proof

Math specific

See here

ProofWiki specific

Since the amount of space needed for a proof is not an obstacle, be sure to provided adequate spacing. That is, make sure that you add line breaks (single blank line in the code) between different thoughts, sections, and steps. This will help anybody reading the proof to ensure that they can follow along much easier.

Also, feel free to consult the current version of the House Style Rules.

Page Creation

How to Create a Page

Pages can be created several different ways. Before creating a page, please put some effort in ensuring that the anticipated content is not already up somewhere else on ProofWiki.

By Searching

First, search for the page name which you would like to create. If this page has not already been created then you will see something that looks like this

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There were no results matching the query.

Create the page page name on this wiki!

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Clicking on page name will open the page editing window.

Direct URL

If you know for sure that the proof is not on the site, then simply type that name into the URL (it is acceptable to replace spaces with underscores). For example, if you wanted to prove the Riemann Hypothesis, you would type:

http://www.proofwiki.org/wiki/Riemann_Hypothesis

If this page does not exist then, you will get a single line saying:

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There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, search the related logs, or edit this page.

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Clicking edit this page will open the editing page where you can edit the page.

Page Naming

For all types of pages, major words in the title of the page should be capitalized. For example: Subring Generated by Unity of Ring with Unity. It is also generally better not to start a page name with "A" or "The", as this makes it significantly harder to find pages alphabetically in their categories. For example: Pythagorean Theorem, not The Pythagorean Theorem.

So as to promote consistency, be informed that in particular, the words 'iff', 'implies', and 'under' are not considered to be "major", and so are ought to be used in their lowercase form when naming a page.

Naming a Proof

It is not necessary to begin the name with "Proof of ....", and should be avoided if possible. Since ProofWiki is a collection of proofs, it should be assumed that each page is going to be a proof of something. This also makes searching for articles much easier.

If the name of a page contains mathematical statements, the following formatting practices should be adhered to:

• Put no spaces between numbers/elements that are added, subtracted, divided, or multiplied together.

Eg: (1+2)x3.

• Do, however, put spaces between elements that are put into equality or inequality with one another, and please use != to signify inequality.

Eg: 1 = 3/3 != 3/4.

Naming a Definition

When you would like to create a page for a definition, all you have to do different from naming a proof is to add "Definition:" in front of the name. So for example if you wanted to create a page for the definition of calculus you would name the page:

Definition:Calculus

Also, after you create the page, be sure to add the definition to the appropriate "Definitions" categories (see Category:Definitions).

Naming an Axiom or a Symbols page

The same method that is used for Definitions is also used to name and categorize axiom and symbols pages. Simply substitute Symbols or Axioms for Definitions in the page name and category name.

Disallowed Characters

The following characters should not be used in page names:

# < > [ ] | { } * & $\$$ @

Page Editing and Syntax

Wiki syntax and LaTeX syntax

See this page for guidelines and instructions to page editing.

Discussion Pages

When you post on a discussion page be sure to include your signature. This includes your username(with a link to your user page), and a timestamp of when the edit was made. You can include your signature by pressing the signature button the on taskbar above the editing window (second button from the right). You can also manually insert your signature.

Signature Options

Wiki Code	Appearance	Description
~~~	User	Username with link to user page
~~~~	User 12:34, 1 January 2012 (UTC)	Same as above with timestamp

Signatures are often preceded by -- (two dashes) to separate the signature from the text body, although this is not necessary.

Sandbox

The ProofWiki sandbox is a great place to test out your $\LaTeX$ and wiki skills without having to tamper with an actual page.

If you don't want to use the main sandbox, you can always create your own personal one at:

{{template_name}}, which' translates to the web address {{WIP}}.

Categories

Assigning A Category

Each page should reference at least one category, referenced by placing {{Proofread}} in the page code. For organizational purposes this is usually added at the bottom of the page.

So for example, a proof about the properties of sets could go under the category "Set Theory", i.e. [[Category:Set Theory]].

Categories relating to the field of mathematics should precede the categories relating to the type of proofs contained on the page. For example, 1+2+...+n = n(n+1)/2 is listed first in "Number Theory" and second in "Direct Proofs". In other instances, the ordering of listed categories is left to user discretion.

For example, one could input the two mentioned categories as follows:

[[Category:Number Theory]]
[[Category:Direct Proofs]]

Category Pages

Each new category page must be referenced to to the main Proofs page. This can be done by editing the page, and adding the category [[Category:Proofs]] or if a category is a subcategory of something else, then add that something else as a category.

References

References can easily be created by enclose the reference inside a <ref></ref> tag in the area you would like referenced. Then near the end of your article include this: <references/> . This will be where the references are actually listed. For an example see the below:

According to scientists, the Sun is pretty big. The Moon, however, is not so big.

Notes

The code for this:

According to scientists, the Sun is pretty big.<ref>E. Miller, The Sun, (New York: Academic Press, 2005), 23-5.</ref>
The Moon, however, is not so big.<ref>R. Smith, "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 46 (April 1978): 44-6.</ref>

'''Notes'''
<references/>

Typically, it is desirable to collect the references under a designated 'type-2' header named 'References', whose code is:

== References ==

Page Templates

These are templates that are included on a page to let readers/editors know something about that page. Templates can be used by adding {{template_name}} to the page where it is needed.

The following is a list of templates with their uses:

• Stub template is used on pages that have not yet been completed, but have been started.
• Proofread template is used on pages that need to be proofread for mathematical/grammatical errors.
• Tidy template is used on pages that need a better/new style, either in terms of $\LaTeX$ or general organization.
• Explain template is used on pages that need a specific idea/topic clarified, or where more details need to be added.
• Mergeto template is used to propose a merger of two or more pages.
• Rename template is used to propose renaming a page.