There is an at-times dizzying array of symbols used in math and CS papers. Yet many assume basic familiarity that seems rarely taught in one place. I am looking for a dictionary something like the following, especially from a CS perspective.
- It would list all the basic mathematical symbols and give their meanings and examples. It would talk about symbols that are sometimes used in equivalent ways. It would note common beginner mistakes.
- It would talk about the subtleties surrounding different meanings of a single symbol (much like multiple definitions of the same word in a dictionary).
- It would not merely be a very terse description of each symbol, such as one word descriptions like "subset".
- It would show how symbols are sometimes "overloaded". For example, $\binom{x}{y}$ could have $z$ as an integer, but sometimes $z$ can be a set with this notation and it means to choose elements from this set. $[n]$ sometimes means a set of integers $1 \ldots n$, or other times its a one-element array.
- It might talk about how to describe all kinds of different "objects" in terms of different symbols or equivalent ways of referring to them (but which are more clear) and the operations possible on those objects. In other words, kind of like an API for math objects.
I.e. it would be also at times a "style manual" for different nuances in how to present mathematical writing. This would be a very helpful resource for anyone writing questions in mathematical stackexchanges, where many questions fail to make sense based on not fitting into tricky mathematical conventions.
Some book introductions have many of these features. however ideally it would be a separate treatment. Also, ideally of course it would be online. There are tables of latex symbols, but they don't really fulfill many of the above criteria.
Has anyone seen a "dictionary of symbols" that matches these features?
(Alternatively, it seems like an excellent wiki or FAQ project if good references like this don't exist.)
