The floor and ceiling are common mathematical functions. In this post, we will learn how to typeset both in LaTeX!

1. Floor function in \(\LaTeX{}\)

The floor function \(f(x)\) takes a real number \(x\) as an input and returns the greatest integer less than or equal to \(x\).

A floor function is denoted floor(x) or ⌊x⌋. The latter corresponds to square brackets without upper horizontal bars.

In \(\LaTeX{}\), we use the commands \lfloor and \rfloor in math mode to get left and right symbols of the floor function. Check the following illustrative example:

% Floor function in LaTeX
\documentclass{article}


\begin{document}

In \LaTeX{}, the floor function can be typeset using the commands: \verb|\lfloor| and \verb|\rfloor|. Here is an example: floor($x$)=$\lfloor x \rfloor$     

\end{document}

Compiling this code yields:

For an extended size of floor symbol, we can add \left before \lfloor command and \right before \rfloor command. For more details about controlling the size of these brackets, I invite you to read this post!

2. Ceiling function in \(\LaTeX{}\)

The ceiling function \(f(x)\) takes a real number \(x\) as an input and returns the least integer greater than or equal to \(x\). A ceiling function is denoted

A ceiling function is denoted ceil(x) or ⌈x⌉. The latter corresponds to square brackets without lower horizontal bars.

In \(\LaTeX{}\), we use the commands \lceil and \rceil in math mode to get left and right symbols of the ceiling function. Check the following illustrative example:

% Ceiling function in LaTeX
\documentclass{article}


\begin{document}

In \LaTeX{}, the ceiling function can be typeset using the commands: \verb|\lceil| and \verb|\rceil|. Here is an example: ceil($x$)=$\lceil x \rceil$     

\end{document}

This code produces:

For an extended size of ceiling symbol, we can add \left before \lfloor command and \right before \rfloor command. For more details about controlling the size of these brackets, I invite you to read this post!

We reached the end of Today's tutorial, if you find it useful, please share it with your friends!