1.3 Using this guide

This guide is available as part of the Myron distribution and can be viewed using Myron's book reader. It is also available in online and print formats. This section explains the type-setting conventions and terms used throughout the rest of the guide. It also explains how to use the navigation features of the book reader.

Because Myron runs on both Android and desktop systems, there are occasional differences in the user interface. These are indicated in the guide using the icons for Android (), desktop () and windows tablet () to indicate when the text refers to a specific device. In addition, the icon is used to distinguish comments specific to the online version of the guide and is used for the print version.

Myron runs under one of two feature sets, generally referred to a lite and pro. The guide indicates pro-only transformations and commands using the icon .

1.3.1 Navigation

If displayed using Myron's book reader or a web browser, the navigation phrases located at the top of each page can be used to move through the guide. Navigation phrases are links that display the previous page, the parent of the current page, or the next page. At the beginning of the guide and at the beginning of each section, a table of contents links directly to a particular page.

The book-reader provides navigation directly to the home page, the table of contents, the index or the glossary. The menu is made visible by touching the icon at the top right of the book reader (or by touching the hardware menu item on Android devices with small displays). Back and fore controls provide browser-like navigation through recently read pages. Content controls mimic the navigation phrases.

In the Android version of Myron, the table of contents can also be seen by touching the icon at the top left of the book reader. Touching an item in the table of contents displays that item in the reader. Touching the icon a second time, while the contents are displayed, navigates back to the algebra workspace.

When transformations are described in the guide, an imperative verb in a button-like frame indicates both the control and the action, like this: “select the divisor, then Distribute and Simplify ”. Such verbs are linked to their descriptions elsewhere in the guide, providing another axis of navigation.

1.3.2 Input and Display Representations

Embedded within the text, mathematical expressions are displayed in one of two representations called the input form and the display form. The input form is also called the syntactic form because of its close relationship with the parser and the expression language.

The input form is presented in mono space font, like this: ∫ⅇ^x÷√(x+1)ⅆx. This is how an expression looks when entered in the text-input area. The non-ASCII symbols used in the input form are available via keyboard extensions provided for both Android and desktop (see §1.6). They are also available using mnemonic $-escapes (see §2.11) .

The display form presents expressions the same way they are displayed on the workspace display. The display form of the syntactic-form given above looks like this: ∫ⅇ^x÷√(x+1) ⅆx. Both forms will be given when describing syntax. However, just the display form will be given when describing mathematics.

All expressions in display form respond to being touched in the book reader. When touched, the reader reveals the input form of the expression and provides an option to copy it into Myron's workspace (after bookmarking the current location). You can return to the bookmarked location in the guide by touching the book icon in the algebra display.

In the online version of this guide, expressions in display form are annotated with the syntactic form of the expression. To see the syntactic form, click the mouse on the display form.

1.3.3 Terminology

When the term additive operator is used in a general sense, it refers to both addition and subtraction. When it is important to distinguish the individual operators, they are called the add and subtract operators. Similarly, the term multiplicative operator refers to both multiplication and division, with multiply and divide operator used in the individual cases.

Operands of binary operators are often identified by words constructed from the operator name and one of the suffixes -and or -end. For example, the add operator is applied to operands called addends (or summands) and the multiply operator is applied to multiplicands. Sometimes, the right operand is distinguished by the suffix -or. For example the divide operator operates on a dividend and a divisor; an integral specifies an integrand and an integrator. The use of explicit names adds precision to the text and often reduces the number of words necessary to convey a concept.

1.3.4 Annotations

In the book reader and online, the presence of a notation^[1] is indicated by a footnote symbol and the notation itself is displayed in a popup when the highlighted text is touched. In the print version, notations are displayed as footnotes at the bottom of the page.