Re: [MathOnWeb] call for comments -- directions for 2018

Hi Peter,

> On 12 Jan 2018, at 17:05, Peter Krautzberger <peter@krautzource.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> Let me try to kick things off by posting my own thoughts.
> 
> 
<skip>
> > 2. what directions do you want/hope/wish/expect to see take shape?
> 
> On the scope of the group, I hope we find additional focus areas that can bring additional contributors. Two potential areas I see are the standardization of ascii-like equation input languages and richer semantics from computational tools.
> 
> On the large scope, let me be seemingly negative here: I hope that 2018 will be the year that sees MathML being deprecated from HTML5.
> 
> It will be 20 years in April since MathML 1 became a REC and it is no step closer to browser vendors giving a damn about it. I think the key reason nowadays is that MathML has simply become an outdated technology for the web: it may have been a good fit for the web of the 1990s but today it goes against that grain of the web.
> 
> I think deprecating MathML from HTML 5 would be a positive step forward for two reasons.
> 
> First, the empty promises of MathML hold the web back. As long as native MathML solutions remain an expectation,  it will continue to reduce leverage for more useful specs (i.e., parts for actually supported standards like CSS or ARIA). This means general web developers continue to miss out on good features because they don't have the support of those people hoping to see MathML - in particular of course those developers whose equation-related tools actually help the community -- MathJax, speech-rule-engine, mathlive, katex, mathquill, jqmath etc etc.
> 
> Second, being part of HTML5 is holding MathML back. There are plenty of problems and limitations of the MathML spec specific to XML land where MathML still fits well into the technology stack. MathML should become better in the areas where it always succeeded rather than where it always failed, i.e., in XML documents and their workflows rather than the web.
> 


Would it be possible to expand a little bit on these points? Because, I am afraid, I do not really understand…

1. Let us say we deprecate MathML from HTML5. What exactly would you propose to replace it on a larger level? Would it mean that one would have standardized syntaxes like Ascii or LaTex and… what is then the next step? Would we define some sort of an HTML extension through Web Components, for example?

I am obviously interested (mostly) on how to provide a standard environment where Math is easily accessible for a lambda web designer, which is what we all want…

2. I am also not sure about your second point. Would it mean that you would want to expand on MathML's functionalities that are not related to Web usage?

I am not agreeing or disagreeing with you, I just want to understand…

Thanks

Ivan



----
Ivan Herman, W3C
Publishing@W3C Technical Lead
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