ISO 2145
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International standard ISO 2145 defines a typographic convention for the "numbering of divisions and subdivisions in written documents". It applies to any kind of document, including manuscripts, books, journal articles, and standards.
Description[edit]
The ISO 2145 numbering scheme is defined by the following rules:
- Only Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, …) are used.
- The main divisions are numbered continuously starting from 1.
- Each main division (first level) can be divided further into subdivisions (second level), which are equally continuously numbered. This can be continued for further levels of subdivision.
- A full stop is placed between numbers that designate subdivisions of different levels. No full stop is placed after the number that designates the final subdivision.
- A number 0 (zero) can be assigned to the first division of each level if it forms an introduction, preface, foreword, or the like.
Example[edit]
A table of contents might look like:
| 0 | Foreword |
| 1 | Introduction |
| 2 | Methodology |
| 2.1 | Counting techniques |
| 2.1.1 | Manual procedures |
| 2.1.1.1 | Counting apples |
| 2.1.1.2 | Counting oranges |
| 2.1.2 | Automatic methods |
| 2.2 | Quality control |
| 3 | Results |
| 4 | Related work |
| 4.1 | Bean counting |
| 4.2 | Sheep counting |
| 5 | Conclusions |
Citations[edit]
Division and subdivision numbers are cited in written text as in:
- … in chapter 4 …
- … as lemma 3.4.27 shows …
- … the 3rd paragraph in 2.4.1.7 …
In spoken language, the full stops are omitted:
- "… in chapter four …"
- "… as lemma three four twenty-seven shows …"
- "… the third paragraph in two four one seven …"
Support in word processing software[edit]
- All standard LaTeX document classes generate chapter, section, subsection, figure, table, etc. numbers exactly as defined by ISO 2145.
- As of 2003, all Microsoft Word versions are by default set up to add a full stop after the final section number. This does not conform to ISO 2145; however, users can change settings to conform to the ISO standard.
References[edit]
- International Standard ISO 2145:1978, Documentation — Numbering of divisions and subdivisions in written documents. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.
- British Standard BS 5848:1980, Specification for numbering of divisions and subdivisions in written documents (point-numbering).
