# Fraction with longer line

I'm trying to display some axioms and operational rules with LaTeX.

Those are basically . They work quite well when used with frac, but it's not really nice, I'd like the fraction line to be a bit longer.

I know that sounds a bit vague, so here is a picture of what I am trying to achieve. I'm pretty sure that document has been typeset in LaTeX, so it should be doable.

-

\newcommand\bigfrac[2]{%
\begin{array}{c}
#1 \\
\hline
#2
\end{array}}

-
Thanks. I wanted to give it a little more space under the line (the letters over the arrows now almost touch it) so I tried: \newcommand\bigfrac[2]{\begin{array}{c}#1\\\hline\vspace{1pt}#2\end{array}} but that just increased the space between the two lines in the picture. – Tim van Dalen Jun 25 '11 at 12:55
Add \begingroup\setlength\extrarowheight{1pt} before \begin{array} and \endgroup after \end{array}. Load the array package. – egreg Jun 25 '11 at 12:59
Thanks, looks great – Tim van Dalen Jun 25 '11 at 13:06

Here's an extended version of \frac, supporting an optional argument for a wider line:

\documentclass{article}
\DeclareRobustCommand{\frac}[3][0pt]{%
{\begingroup\hspace{#1}#2\hspace{#1}\endgroup\over\hspace{#1}#3\hspace{#1}}}
\begin{document}
$\frac{x}{y} \quad \frac[5pt]{x}{y}$
\end{document}


Of course you can define your own frac command similar instead of redefining the existing \frac, also with a default value bigger than 0pt.

The definition is similar to the definition in amsmath.sty, except that file is using \@@over.

Or, you could define your own macro using the original \frac:

\DeclareRobustCommand{\widefrac}[3][5pt]{%
\frac{\hspace{#1}#2\hspace{#1}}{\hspace{#1}#3\hspace{#1}}}
...
\widefrac{x}{y} ... \widefrac[8pt]{x+y}{y}

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Note that the use of \over together with amsmath will lead to Package amsmath Warning: Foreign command \over. – Hendrik Vogt Jun 25 '11 at 13:23
With amsmath the command \@@over can be used instead, exactly in the same way plus \makeatletter and \makeatother. amsmathdefines: \@saveprimitive\over\@@over. – Stefan Kottwitz Jun 25 '11 at 13:26
Why not restore the old \frac and use it here? Or use \genfrac provided by amsmath. – Leo Liu Jun 25 '11 at 17:25
@Leo: added an example re-using \frac. Of course it could be done similar with \genfrac. – Stefan Kottwitz Jun 25 '11 at 17:51

In case you really want fractions with a longer line, you can just pad both numerator and denominator with spaces. (Padding the longer of the two would acually suffice.) \frac{\ a\ }{\ b\ } gives

For a longer line use, e.g., \quad instead of \ .

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 OK, Stefan just posted a better version of this. – Hendrik Vogt Jun 25 '11 at 13:21

You should consider to use a dedicated package to write your axioms; the bussproofs package could be an option:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{bussproofs}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\newcommand*\LArrow[1][a]{\xrightarrow{\phantom{a}#1\phantom{a}}}

\begin{document}

\begin{prooftree}
\AxiomC{$x\LArrow x^\prime$}
\UnaryInfC{$x+y\LArrow x^\prime$}
\end{prooftree}

\end{document}


To work with displayed math environments, a better option would be to use the proof package. A little example:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{proof}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\newcommand*\PA{\phantom{a}}
\newcommand*\LArrow[1][a]{\xrightarrow{\PA#1\PA}}

\begin{document}

$$\infer{\PA x+y\LArrow x^\prime\PA}{x\LArrow x^\prime} \qquad \infer{\PA x+y\LArrow y^\prime\PA}{y\LArrow y^\prime} \qquad \infer{\PA x+y\, \downarrow\PA}{x\,\downarrow} \qquad \infer{\PA x+y\, \downarrow\PA}{y\,\downarrow}$$

\end{document}


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 Looks better, but I don't need more functionality than the answer above provided. Plus, I can't get it to work in a displaymath environment. – Tim van Dalen Jun 25 '11 at 13:04 Interesting ! a discover for me – Alain Matthes Jun 25 '11 at 13:06 @Tim van Dalen: see my updated answer. – Gonzalo Medina Jun 25 '11 at 13:51