# Coding an equation with description

I want to code this equation in LaTeX:

I'd like to know how to code the equation and the description below it with a reference as well.

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It would be useful to know what you have up to now. –  egreg Apr 26 '12 at 18:00
I'm pretty new to latex. My main query is how to put the dash above an alphabet, the big dash for division and the description as written here. –  Rohan Apr 26 '12 at 18:06

Even though your question was thoroughly answered here's my solution, it differs only in not using a table but a list:

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{amssymb}

\usepackage{enumitem}

\begin{document}

$P_{xi}=\overline{U_{x}}+\sigma_{x}\frac{\sum^{Nu}_{k}D_{kx}\times \left( \frac{S_{ki}-\overline{U_{k}}}{\sigma_{k}}\right)}{\sum^{Nu}_{k}D_{kx}}$
Where:
\begin{itemize}[label=]
\item $P_{xi}$: is the predicted rate for user $x$ on item $i$
\item $S_{ki}$: is the rate of song $i$ given by user $k$
\item $\overline{U_{x}}$: is the average rate of user $x$
\item $\overline{U_{k}}$: is the average rate of user $k$
\item $\sigma_{x}$: is the standard deviation of all the rates of user $x$
\end{itemize}

\end{document}


Which produces the following result:

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You can use \item[$P_{xi}$] to set the label as the symbol - this makes sure the items align –  Henrik Hansen Apr 27 '12 at 7:59

Some more flair in managing the "where" clause, and formatting of the conditions:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}% http://ctan.org/pkg/amsmath
\usepackage{array}% http://ctan.org/pkg/array
\begin{document}

\begin{gather}
P_{xi}=\overline{U}_x+\sigma_x
\frac{\sum_k^{Nu}D_{kx}\times\left(\frac{S_{ki}-\overline{U}_k}{\sigma_k}\right)}
{\sum_k^{Nu}D_{kx}},
\intertext{Where:}
\begin{tabular}{>{$}r<{$}@{\ :\ }l}
P_{xi} & is the predicted rate for user~$x$ on item~$i$ \\
S_{ki} & is the rate of song~$i$ given by user~$k$ \\
D_{kx} & the correlation between user~$x$ and user~$k$ \\
\overline{U}_x & the average rate over user~$x$ \\
\overline{U}_k & the average rate over user~$k$ \\
\sigma_x & is the standard deviation of all the rates of user~$x$
\end{tabular}\nonumber
\end{gather}

\end{document}​

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Another option is to use \shortinertext from the mathtools package as that provides tighter vertical spacing. –  Peter Grill Apr 26 '12 at 18:40
I did not know you could set which columns were math mode in tabular. That's really cool. –  EricR May 1 '12 at 20:21
@EricR: All thanks to the array package using the > and < "directive". :) –  Werner May 1 '12 at 20:23

You can add the line over the variables using \overline. The text below can be done e.g. using a tabular.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}

\begin{gather}
P_{xi} = \overline{U_{x}} + \sigma_{x} \frac
{\sum_k^{Nu} D_{kx} \times \left( \frac {(S_{ki}-\overline{U_k})}{\sigma_k} \right) }
{\sum_k^{Nu} D_{kx}},
\end{gather}
Where:\\
\hspace*{3em}
\begin{tabular}{rl}
$P_{xi}$:& is the predicted rate for user $x$ on item $i$. \\
$S_{ki}$:& is the rate of song $i$ given by user $k$. \\
... & ... \\
\end{tabular}

\end{document}


You can change the space between the columns in the tabular by adding @{\hspace{<your space>}} between the r and l column type specifier.

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I wouldn't overline also the subscript. –  egreg Apr 26 '12 at 19:27
@egreg: Yes, I agree. I had it different at first myself. I tend to replicate requested things as closely as possible. Bad engineering habit ... –  Martin Scharrer Apr 26 '12 at 19:45

If you want to create a numbered equation as in your example, put the math part in an equation environment and add a \label that can be used to reference the equation later (with \ref{}). The LaTeX code of your equation could look like this:

$$\label{eq:mylabel} P_{xi}=\overline{U}_x+\sigma_x \frac{\sum_k^{Nu}D_{kx}\times\left(\frac{S_{ki}-\overline{U}_k}{\sigma_k}\right)} {\sum_k^{Nu}D_{kx}},$$


Of course, you can tweak it to your liking, e.g. put the sum limits above/below the sum (append \limits to the \sum command) or use bigger sum symbols. You should have a look into one of the many LaTeX books available to familiarize yourself with the system.

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