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GLOSSARY

 

Posted 16 April 2009

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 

Z

¨  The symbol  usually denotes the set of all integers. Some authors use .

¨  A lowercase z is commonly used for a complex variable.  The customary notation is that , where x and y are real variables.

Remarks

¨  The letter Z is pronounced "zee" in the USA and "zed" in the United Kingdom and in much of the Commonwealth.

¨  The specification language Z was invented in Britain. Some American computer scientists call it "zed" as a result, although they say "zee" when referring to the letter.

¨  Some authors strongly object to the use of the blackboard bold type style exemplified by “  ” and “  ”.

zero

The number zero

The number zero is an integer. It is the number of elements in the empty set. In American college and university usage it is neither positive nor negative, but many college students show confusion about this.

Zero of a function

A zero of a function f(x) of one variable is an element c the domain of f for which f(c) = 0.  It is more common (except perhaps in complex analysis) to use the word root for such an element c.