divisibility
We say that divides
, or that
is a multiple of
, if there is an integer
such that
. In this case, we write
and say that
is a divisor of
. If
does not divide
, we write
.
e.g. , so
and
.
Knuth et al in Concrete Mathematics use and say “The notation `m|n’ is actually much more common than `m\n’ in current mathematics literature. But vertical lines are overused – for absolute values, set delimiters, conditional probabilities, etc. – and backward slashes are underused. Moreover, `m\n’ gives an impression that m is the denominator of an implied ratio. So we shall boldly let our divisibility symbol lean leftward.”
greatest common divisor
The greatest common divisor of two positive integers and
, written
, is the largest number that divides evenly (no remainder) into both. If
and
have no common factor,
.
factorial !
e.g.
is defined as
floor/ceiling functions
means
rounded up to the next-highest integer.
means
rounded down. e.g.
and