News Release: W3C Integrates Math on the Web with MathML 3

W3C Integrates Math on the Web with MathML 3
HTML5-Compatible Addition Helps Bridge Accessibility Divide

http://www.w3.org/ -- 21 October 2010 -- W3C announces today an  
important standard for making mathematics on the Web more accessible  
and international, especially for early mathematics education. MathML  
3 is the third version of a standard supported in a wide variety of  
applications including Web pages, e-books, equation editors,  
publishing systems, screen readers (that read aloud the information on  
a page) and braille displays, ink input devices, e-learning and  
computational software.

MathML 3 is part of W3C's Open Web Platform, which includes HTML5,  
CSS, and SVG. Browser vendors will add MathML 3 support as they expand  
their support for HTML5. Firefox and Camino already support MathML 2  
natively, and Safari/WebKit nightly builds continue to improve. Opera  
supports the MathML for CSS profile of MathML 3. Internet Explorer  
users can install a freely-available MathPlayer plug-in. In addition,  
JavaScript software such as MathJax enables MathML display in most  
browsers without native support.

MathML 3 Enhances Math Accessibility for Education

There is dizzying variation around the world in the visual layout of  
even the most common operations, including multiplication, long  
division, subtraction, and "carries" and "borrows" for addition.  
MathML 3 introduces new support for representing this diversity of  
notational styles while maintaining sufficient mathematical structure  
so that problems can be spoken comprehensibly by assistive technology  
such as screen readers.

"We've incorporated MathML vocabulary into the DAISY Standard and it  
has proved very effective for middle and upper level math and  
science," say George Kerscher, Secretary General of the DAISY  
Consortium, a W3C Member devoted to developing and promoting  
accessibility standards. "With MathML 3 support for elementary math  
notation, materials used to teach math in elementary schools can now  
be made accessible. This will make production of math faster, cheaper,  
and better for those with print disabilities."

MathML 3 Makes the Language of Science More International

Although many people think of mathematics as an international  
language, mathematical notations can vary greatly from region to  
region. An extreme case is the right-to-left layout of equations  
encountered in Arabic texts and other right-to-left languages.

"We have been working for the past five years converting Arabic school  
books to electronic documents, but, we have always faced problems with  
mathematical books which rely on custom layout and fonts," says Adil  
Allawi, Technical Director of Diwan Software Limited, a vendor of  
Arabic language publishing software. "The right-to-left features of  
MathML 3.0 will make a real difference in the Arab education field. It  
makes it possible, for the first time, to build standards-based and  
truly interoperable electronic maths books for students in the Arab  
countries."


EDITOR'S NOTES:
==============

Web Resources:
--------------
This press release:
  - in English: http://www.w3.org/2010/09/mathml-pr.html.en
  - in French: http://www.w3.org/2010/09/mathml-pr.html.fr
  - in other translations:
    http://www.w3.org/Press/Overview.html#x2010-mathml

W3C MathML3:
    http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/REC-MathML3-20101021/

Testimonials from: American Chemical Society |   American Mathematical  
Society |   Design Science, Inc. |     Elsevier Innovimax (English,  
Français) |    NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions:
    http://www.w3.org/2010/09/mathml-testimonials

Press Contacts:
--------------
Contact Americas, Australia —
    Ian Jacobs, <ij@w3.org>, +1.718.260.9447
Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East —
    Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33 6 76 86 33 41

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]:
-----------------------------------------
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium  
where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work  
together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission  
through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to  
ensure long-term growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are  
Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer  
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA,  
the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics  
(ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan, and has  
additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

--
Ian Jacobs (ij@w3.org)    http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs/
Tel:                                      +1 718 260 9447

Received on Thursday, 21 October 2010 18:45:17 UTC