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I am reading a textbook which uses the LaTeX \smile symbol (a sort of sideways parenthesis) for concatenation of lists. I have never seen this symbol anywhere before except in the document which lists all LaTeX symbols. It may be that this use of \smile for concatenation is standard, and has passed me by. I myself either simply use + for concatenation, or if in pseudo code write it out in words.
Anyway, I'm just curious as to this use of the smile symbol.
It is very common in Mathematics, more specific in Algebraic Topology. It is used to denote the cup product.
cup symbol being used to cup products. But nowadays we have this better option and cup is used for unions.
– Sigur
Oct 17 '13 at 2:45
\cup is used for unions, the "cup product" should be re-named the "smile product"!
– Alasdair
Oct 17 '13 at 5:40
\cup usd in newly written documents all the time. It's the name, I believe. And lack of interest in learning of the numerous subtly different alternatives when a decent default exists. I agree that the cup, being dual to an actual intersection pairing in homology, is "a kind of union", which explains at least the shape of the symbol, if not its precise proportions.
– Ryan Reich
Oct 17 '13 at 16:08
\frownmacro has been used as some form of accent in math-mode. – Qrrbrbirlbel Oct 17 '13 at 1:40