Re: math: URI scheme and protocol handler

Gerardo:
This is a great idea -- and the protocol element of URIs is not the correct
vector for executing it.

IMO, the best place for this is as an element: <mathspeak>....</mathspeak>.

An alternative (atho more complex) would be to use the "rel" attribute of
an HTML link: <a rel="mathspeak">...</a>

Just as "rel='stylesheet'" has a special meaning in browsers,
rel="mathspeak" can be used as the launch for a browser plug-in that knows
how to process math expressions. Another reason to use rel="mathspeak" (and
not the protocol element of a link) is that the href value *could* be used
to point to an external address that knows how to process "mathspeak"
strings. IOW, you can support "mathspeak" speech internally (with a
plug-in) or, if no plug-in is available, use the href to point to an
available processor.

Cheers.



mamund
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On Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 2:55 AM, Gerardo Capiel <gerardoc@benetech.org>wrote:

>  I created a short YouTube video to demonstrate why a protocol handler
> with a math: URI scheme can provide an alternative and simple user
> experience for a blind or vision impaired user for exploring mathematical
> expressions.  In the video, 1) we turn on VoiceOver (the OS X screen reader
> / assistive technology), 2) we navigate a page that contains text and a
> mathematical expression, 3) we decide that we want to use another
> application other than Safari to explore and understand the math expression
> and click on the math expression which has an anchor tag around it (e.g.,
> <a href="math:<math>something</math>">), 4) the operating system launches
> the application registered to handle math: protocol requests, 5) the
> application provides tools for exploring the math, 6) after using the
> application, the user quits the application and seamlessly returns back to
> the web browser where they left off.
>
>  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jajYsEikdI4
>
>  I hope this helps to illustrate why a protocol handler provides a more
> seamless experience with the current state of browser implementations than
> a media type could today.
>
>  Gerardo
>
>  Gerardo Capiel
> VP of Engineering
> benetech
>
>  650-644-3405 - Twitter: @gcapiel <http://twitter.com/gcapiel> - GPG:
> 0x859F11C4
> Fork, Code, Do Social Good: http://benetech.github.com/
>
>