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→Real line: Historical material moved from "real analysis".
The real line is useful as a [[coordinate system]] for [[graph]]ing [[functions]]. Thus, the [[x-axis]] and [[y-axis]] are both instances of the real line. The real line is the basis for geometric [[measurement]]s, and more generally for ideas in [[metric topology]].
The real line is useful as a [[coordinate system]] for [[graph]]ing [[functions]]. Thus, the [[x-axis]] and [[y-axis]] are both instances of the real line. The real line is the basis for geometric [[measurement]]s, and more generally for ideas in [[metric topology]].
==History==
The first serious consideration of the real numbers was by [[Archimedes]] and followed by other Greeks <!--Don't wikilink "Greek". The page refers to the language.-->such as [[Euclid]], [[Pappus]], and [[Zeno]]. To honor Archimedes' contribution, real analysts have named a property of the real numbers the [[Archimedean|Archimedean property]]. Real analysis remained in [[geometry]]'s shadow until the development of the subfield of [[calculus]]. This subject subsumed all geometry known at the time, creating the field of [[analytic geometry]].
==Notes and references==
==Notes and references==