Help:Editing/House Style/Linking

Internal References
Due to the desired standard of rigor on, there are a lot of concepts on any given (proof) page that have their own, dedicated Proof or Definition page on.

To ensure ease of reference and maximal clarity and consistency, the following rules for internal reference are to be adhered to.

For information on creating links, see this section.

References to Theorems and Axioms
Whenever a theorem is invoked or referred to, be it in a proof or, for example, a clarifying comment, it should be referenced by its full title.

Also, for ease of editing, there is no need to change the case of theorem names; the page title will suffice.

Thus, for example, a valid reference to the result Union Distributes over Intersection is simply:


 * "By Union Distributes over Intersection, $A \cup \left({B \cap C}\right) = \left({A \cup B}\right) \cap \left({A \cup C}\right)$."

This is achieved by simply putting the title of the page you want to reference between double square brackets,  and.

The same convention applies to axioms, except that the namespace identifier Axiom: should be removed.

The correct way to reference the page Axiom:Axiom of Choice thus is:


 * Axiom of Choice

which is produced by:



References to Definitions
Whenever a concept (or part of it) is invoked on a page, it should be presented as a link to the definition of that concept.

It is preferred that every use of the word for that concept is presented as such a link.

These references are made in a non-intrusive way. Thus, we write:


 * Let $R$ be a ring.

and not:


 * Let $R$ be a Ring (Abstract Algebra).

Permanent Redirects to Definitions on Subpages
Many definitions have subpages, for example:
 * Definition:Primitive (Calculus)/Real

In such cases there is (or ought to be) a permanent redirect to such a page, which is to be used instead in all cases.

In this case we have:
 * Definition:Primitive of Real Function

If you find you need to link to such a subpage, use the "What links here" (under "Tools" in the menu on the left hand side) to find out what permanent redirect may be available.

If there is none, feel free to implement one.


 * Note

This of course does not apply when the subpage is to handle multiple definitions, for example:


 * Definition:Prime Number/Definition 1
 * Definition:Prime Number/Definition 2
 * Definition:Prime Number/Definition 3

... and so on.

The rule here is (unless there are specific reasons to invoke exactly that instance of the definition, either to avoid circular arguments or in proofs of the equivalence of such definitions) not to invoke the individual subpage, but merely the top level page (in this case Definition:Prime Number). Otherwise maintenance becomes significantly more difficult.

Also see

 * Template:MissingLinks
 * Template:Link wanted