Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site utah-gr.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!pwa-b!utah-gr!thomas
From: thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas)
Newsgroups: net.math
Subject: Re: Induction help, please?
Message-ID: <1204@utah-gr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Oct-84 15:40:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: utah-gr.1204
Posted: Thu Oct 11 15:40:21 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Oct-84 08:43:55 EDT
References: <5264@yale.UUCP> <28200045@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Reply-To: thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas)
Organization: Univ of Utah CS Dept
Lines: 12

In article <28200045@uiucdcs.UUCP> west@uiucdcs.UUCP writes:
>Step 2 mentioned in the previous response is poorly expressed.
>The induction step of an induction proof proves that the hypothesis
>holds at a given value under the assumption that it holds for all
>values of the parameter between there and the values considered in the
>basis step.

This is what is called "strong" or "complete" induction.  It is often
only necessary to know that P(n) -> P(n+1).  Sometimes, as you have
stated, one must know that P(1..n) -> P(n+1).

=Spencer