Notation and Definitions
1) Scalars, Vectors, and Sets:
A scalar is a simple numerical value, like 15 or - 3.25.
Variables or constants that take scalar
values are denoted by an italic letter, like π.
A vector is an ordered list of scalar values, called attributes. We denote a vector as a bold
character, for example, x or w.
A set is an unordered collection of unique elements.
a 
If a set
includes all values between a and b, including a and b, it is denoted using brackets as [a, b].
For example, the set [0, 1] includes such values as 0, 0.0001, 0.25, 0.784, 0.9995, and 1.0.
If the set doesnβt include the values a and b, such a set is denoted using parentheses like this:
(a, b).
For example, the set (0, 1) includes such values as 0.0001, 0.25, 0.784 and 0.9995 but doesn't include
0 and 1.
A special set denoted β includes all numbers from -β (minus infinity) to +β (plus infinity).
When an element π belongs to a set S, we write π β S.
We can obtain a new set S3 as
an intersection of two sets S1 and S2. In this case,
we write S3 β S1 β© S2.
For example
{1, 3, 5, 8} β© {1, 8, 4} gives the new set {1, 8}.
We can obtain a new set S3 as a union of two sets S1 and S2. In this case, we write S3 β S1 βͺ S2.
For example {1, 3, 5, 8} βͺ {1, 8, 4} gives the new set {1, 3, 4, 5, 8}.
Referenced The Hundred-Page Machine Learning Book - Andriy Burkov