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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.

jbochi
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  • Mark up for presentation ? If so, in what form: screen or paper ? Or something else ? Or mark up for later processing by, eg, your favourite computer algebra system ? – High Performance Mark Dec 24 '09 at 10:27
  • @High-Performance Mark: For presentation in the screen. It should look good and be easy to write/edit. No need of later processing. – jbochi Dec 24 '09 at 11:00
  • latex (esp. ams-latex) just adds complexity to tex's math markup. tex markup is often used by mathematicians to communicate maths over tty fora such as usenet. – Charles Stewart Dec 24 '09 at 12:47

4 Answers4

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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
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  • 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 Dec 24 '09 at 10:55
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Have you looked at ASCIIMathML? It converts the markup to MathML, but seems to be easier on the brain...

Oded
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  • 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 Dec 24 '09 at 10:27
  • 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 Dec 24 '09 at 11:05
  • You are right. I don't know if I will use ASCIIMathML, but this is the best answer for the question. Thanks again. – jbochi Dec 24 '09 at 11:13
  • I like a few of the shorthand symbols --favourite: (: & :) for angle brackets-- but it doesn't seem to offer enough condensation and transparency to overcome the advantages that tex has. – Charles Stewart Dec 24 '09 at 12:52
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Look at eqn at http://www.kohala.com/start/troff/troff.html for instance.

lhf
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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
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  • 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 Dec 24 '09 at 10:47
  • 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 Dec 24 '09 at 11:06
  • 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 Dec 24 '09 at 12:54