Unfinished mathematical paper

Question

when writing a paper that you anticipate will become long, is it better to publish a small part of it and then publish the rest later, or will that (especially if the paper contains an original idea) give too much of a hint to potential rivals?

In other words, is it better to publish a mathematical paper in full, after completing your whole investigation, or in parts.

Answer 1

Publishing many papers when it can be done in one paper is sometimes known as salami slicing or least publishable unit. From Wikipedia:

In academia, salami slicing refers to the practice of creating several short publications out of material that could have, perhaps more validly, been published as a single article in a journal or review.

Also,

The term [least publishable unit] is often used as a joking, ironic, or sometimes derogatory reference to the strategy of pursuing the greatest quantity of publications at the expense of their quality.

Some people find the practice of salami slicing or publishing in least publishable units unethical.