Thread: A problem with LateX array

Hi there, I'm attempting to create a few arrays in a couple of different documents and I keep getting an error. Here is two of them, the first being a fairly simple two row array and the second being a more complex array with 6 rows and varying inputs.

$$ \left.\begin{array}{ccccc}
{ }& {1} & {2} & {.....} & {n} \\
{B_$\lambda$} & {b_{$\lambda$ 1}} & {b_{$\lambda$ 2}} & {.....} & {b_{$\lambda$ n}}
\end{array}\right.$$

$$\left.\begin{array}{ccccccc}
& $\lambda \in \Lambda$ & & & & &
\\ $b_x \in B_\lambda$ & & 1st & 2nd & 3rd & .... & nth
\\ & 1st & b_{1,1} & b_{2,1} & b_{3,1} & .... & b_{n,1}
\\ & 2nd & b_{1,2} & b_{2,2} & b_{3,2} & .... & b_{n,2}
\\ & 3rd & b_{1,3} & b_{2,3} & b_{3,3} & .... & b_{n,3}
\\ & .... & .... & .... & .... & .... & ....
\\ & n & b_{1,n} & b_{2,n} & b_{3,n} & .... & b_{n,n}
\end{array}\right.$$

this is the error I get with both. ! Missing } inserted.
<inserted text>
}
l.21 {B_$
\lambda$} & {b_{$\lambda$ 1}} & {b_{$\lambda$ 2}} & {.....} & {b_{$...

?



I appreciate all the help you can give me.

Try this for your first array:

$$\left.\begin{array}{ccccc}
& 1 & 2 & ..... & n \\
B_{\lambda} &b_{\lambda 1} &b_{\lambda 2} &..... &b_{\lambda n}
\end{array}\right.$$

That should at least compile - it does on my computer.

I'm really sorry Ackbeet, but I'm afraid I need to ask a completely different question first. I started using LaTeX recently on a mac, but I've switched to using my personal windows computer. The LaTeX program I just downloaded wont compile anything much less the array you have been kind enough to give me . Can you recomend a good LaTeX program for windows so I can try to move forward?

As always, all help is highly appreciated

Scratch that. For some reason I was entirely unable to download MikTeX from any source yesterday, but it worked fine all of a sudden today so I'm fine there. That array did work, I'll get back to you when I have the chance to check the other. Thank you

Ok, great. Let me know how the other array works.

It took me a bit but I figured out the other array by looking at the one you gave me. Thank you so much! I had been trying to make those work for a while.

As an aside I will observe that the \left. \right. pair do nothing, they insert empty elastic parentheses

CB