How to display P0 and Pn-1

Question

How can I display the index of P0 has a small letter, as well as Pn-1 (where the n-1 is small) ?

I know it's a simple thing but i'm starting with latex and not being able to hit the correct keywords on google.

Answer 1

Math mode

In LaTeX (and TeX) the subscript is represented by an underscore _ and only available in math mode. If only one charcacter follows you can type _x if there are more characters in the subscript, you must use braces _{xyz}.

There are two styles of math:
Inline math, shown with dollar sings $...$ or with \(...\)*,

Soe if we say $P_0$ and $P_{n-1}$ are stupid, we can assume that ...

and display style math, which could come in several ways, e.g.

Now we se that
   \[P_0 = p_{n-1}\]
and guess that ...

To write text like indices in math mode it’s recommended to use \text from the amsmath package (or via mathtools), e.g.

Assuming that ... $x_\text{min}=0$ ...

_{* The dollar sings $ are the old TeX syntax but work with LaTeX. The parenthesis version \( \) only works with LaTeX.}

Text mode

For the text mode there is only a \textsuperscript{text}. With KOMA-Script you will also get \textsubscript{text}.

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I strongly recommend that you read some LaTeX guides to learn the basics. See What is the best book to start learning LaTeX? or consult you local book dealer.