Is there an easy markup language for math equations?
I am developing an application for undergrads and I was looking for something less complex than LaTex and easier to write than MathML.
+3
A:
Have you looked at ASCIIMathML? It converts the markup to MathML, but seems to be easier on the brain...
Oded
2009-12-24 10:03:03
Thanks. This looks promising, but can I use it together with another markup language, like Markdown? As far as I understood, ASCIIMathML would be useful only for the equations and not for the rest of the text.
jbochi
2009-12-24 10:27:13
Your question only mentioned mathematical markup. You should add your other requirements to the question. I don't know if it plays nicely with Markdown - you will have to look at both to find out.
Oded
2009-12-24 11:05:21
You are right. I don't know if I will use ASCIIMathML, but this is the best answer for the question. Thanks again.
jbochi
2009-12-24 11:13:00
Charles Stewart
2009-12-24 12:52:28
+5
A:
For the actual equations themselves, I think tex is simple and clear. Tex gets complicated only when you worry about everything except the equations, such as documents and packages etc. And the quality of tex equations is far better than everything else. So I'd recommend looking at some kind of hybrid approach - use tex markup for the actual equations, but embed them in a simpler environment. You might look at some of the questions relating to converting tex equations directly to pngs.
Peter
2009-12-24 10:25:27
A hybrid solution like Markdown + TeX could be the best approach for my purposes indeed, but I guess I would need to implement the editor and the text to html+images in this case.
jbochi
2009-12-24 10:55:13
A:
The answer will depend critically on what you want. Note that if you roll your own you will have to develop a complete toolkit for authoring, validating, transforming and rendering. You will either have to have a very small language or put in a lot of effort.
If you want typesetting, then use either TeX or presentational MathML as they have well-developed toolkits. If you want semantic math then content MathML is your best bet.
One of the main groups involved with math markup is the Mathematical Knowledge Management community (MKM) and their choice is MathML. I have interacted with them over the years as chemistry and math often are found together.
I'm afraid that the answer is that Math is a complex subject and there are no ultra simple solutions. I believe that MathML is fairly free of unnecessary complexity and represents the best way forward. Moreover it is an excellent indication of the difference beteween presentation and content/semantics.
peter.murray.rust
2009-12-24 10:36:58
Thanks, Peter. MathML and LaTex are both well suited for equation's presentation, but the problem with MathML is that humans cannot write XML well / fast enough. :(
jbochi
2009-12-24 10:47:27
Yes! Your answer will depend on what you want to do. If it's authoring for (say) engineering students I would use TeX. If it's for general use find an equation editor to protect them. If it's for maths it's probably not a bad idea for them to learn some markup.
peter.murray.rust
2009-12-24 11:06:19
mathml is verbose and unintuitive compared to tex. The desgn docs for mathml express the intention that it is meant to be a representation that is mostly used at the xml manipulation level, with tex used as an input format.
Charles Stewart
2009-12-24 12:54:25
+1
A:
Look at eqn at http://www.kohala.com/start/troff/troff.html for instance.
lhf
2009-12-24 13:01:22
eqn is kind of nice, but it's not more readable, and is less compact and less capable than tex, and it is far less well known.
Charles Stewart
2009-12-26 05:45:13