Re: [Axiom-developer] axiom opportunity

[Bob McElrath]

Page, Bill address@hidden wrote:
> On Tuesday, April 25, 2006 8:32 AM David MENTRE wrote:
> > [Open Office ...]
> > On that side, a reasonable approach would be to add a new Axiom
> > output format suitable for computer parsing (for example as sexp).
> > One could use a standardized format, like MathML, but I am afraid
> > of its complexity (that's said, that does not prevent us to look
> > at how MathML has defined its building blocks).

The most basic building blocks of MathML can be added fairly easily.
You need a character table, and know how to do fractions, roots, and
sub/superscripts.  I would think this would be a day or two of work, but
would be a big step in allowing evolution to start.  Once it "basically"
works, others can add pieces that are missing, and think about whether a
more well-thought-out design is required.

I've written a TeX->MathML converter (in python) in the last few weeks,
and been surprised that it's not nearly as hard as I thought.  The basic
rules are easy.  Mark it as experimental and let it go.
./src/algebra/tex.spad.pamphlet is only 709 lines.

> I think jsMath as an alternative to MathML has continued to
> evolve and mature very rapidly:
> 
> http://www.math.union.edu/~dpvc/jsMath/changes.html
> 
> It uses just a subset of LaTeX embedded in HTML.
> 
> For use in a graphical user interface based on web browser
> technology I still consider jsMath quite superior to MathML
> in ease of use, compatibility and even performance.

Uh...Bill..."performance"?  I've done quite a few benchmarks and jsMath
is a dog when it comes to speed.  Davide and I have been discussing ways
to cache jsMath output to improve speed.  (He sent me an experimental
cache a few days ago that I haven't had a chance to look at yet...)
jsMath requires the browser to draw each sub-component of an expression
in a hidden <div> so that it can measure its metrics.  This is very slow
compared to just reading the metrics from the font.

jsMath is a good transition tool, and Davide hopes to evolve it to have
a MathML output mode, but it is by no means fast.

In the long term the solution to math on the web is MathML.  I think the
sooner we (and the world) embrace this fact, and stop spending all our
efforts on stop-gap solutions, the better we will be and the quicker we
can advance.  Furthermore mathematics needs huge character sets.  Moving
to unicode (implied by the move to MathML) will be a huge boon to math
since we can use all kinds of characters and operators outside of ASCII.

The Really Big Problem with MathML is fonts.  FYI the STIX fonts project
plans a beta release in the next few weeks: http://www.stixfonts.org/.
The addition of this font, and its distribution with browsers will
remove most of the problems with MathML, and it will begin to take off
since every Firefox/Mozilla user will be able to "see" MathML without
jumping trough the extra hoops of installing fonts, as is currently
required.  Axiom should jump on this opportunity.

--
Cheers,
Bob McElrath [Univ. of California at Davis, Department of Physics]

    "It is almost universally felt that when we call a country
    democratic we are praising it; consequently, the defenders of every
    kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they
    might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one
    meaning." -- George Orwell

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