Symbol for Integers: Z or I or both?

[Astro]

Homework Statement

Personal Question: Internet says the standardized math symbol for integers is $\mathbb {Z}$. However, my Alberta MathPower 10 (Western Edition) textbook from 1998 says the symbol is I. I'm guessing the textbook is wrong? Or are both answers correct?

Relevant Equations

not applicable (see homework statement)

Personal Question:

Internet says the standardized math symbol for integers is $\mathbb {Z}$. However, my Alberta MathPower 10 (Western Edition) textbook from 1998 says the symbol is I. I'm guessing that textbook is wrong? Or are both answers correct?

 

[Mark44]

Homework Statement:: Personal Question: Internet says the standardized math symbol for integers is $\mathbb {Z}$. However, my Alberta MathPower 10 (Western Edition) textbook from 1998 says the symbol is I. I'm guessing the textbook is wrong? Or are both answers correct?
Relevant Equations:: not applicable (see homework statement)

Personal Question:

Internet says the standardized math symbol for integers is $\mathbb {Z}$. However, my Alberta MathPower 10 (Western Edition) textbook from 1998 says the symbol is I. I'm guessing that textbook is wrong? Or are both answers correct?

I've never seen I used to represent the set of integers in any textbook. Instead, I've seen only $\mathbb Z$ used for this purpose. It comes from the German zahlen, (numbers).

 

[FactChecker]

I've seen them both used (I don't remember if in books or articles). They are both acceptable. There is no mathematics enforcement police squad that needs to be satisfied. It is necessary to carefully define any notation conventions that will be used in a book or document, whether they are standard or not.

 

[hmmm27]

"I" or "i" is popular in CS circles ; blame Fortran, with its default of i-thru-n field names standing for type integers.

 

[Mark44]

"I" or "i" is popular in CS circles ; blame Fortran, with its default of i-thru-n field names standing for type integers.

But these are just identifiers for integer variables, not symbols that represent the set of integers, which is the topic at hand in this thread.

 

[MidgetDwarf]

It is just a matter of convention the author chose. Z is the standard, from my own personal experience, and I have seen I used for the set of all irrational numbers in one book.

Whats important that every time you see I in your book. You know that they are referring to the set of all integers. If you may use another book, they may use the Z notation. For more advance books, it is important to read the first pages, to see what notation the author uses.