Re: microsoftisms after netscapeisms ?

Robert Hazeltine <rhazltin@zeppo.nepean.uws.edu.au> wrote:
>On Mon, 15 Jan 1996, Daniel W. Connolly wrote:
>>Robert Hazeltine <rhazltin@zeppo.nepean.uws.edu.au> writes:
>> >[...]
>
>> >This is good to see.  But I wonder why it this particular element rather
>> >than some of the still unsettled issues like maths?
>>
>> Please consider the internet technology development process:
>> 1. Propose
>> 2. Experiment
>> 3. Standardize
>> 4. Widespread deployment
>>
>> In the case of INSERT, there were three major vendors shipping
>> products/betas with incompatible syntaxes for the same mechanism.
>> That seems like a case of great urgency to me! #4 was happening
>> before #3!
>>
>> Math is still at stage 2. We need more experiments, not more
>> standards work, at this point.
[...]
>However, I hope you will excuse my cynicism when I do not have HTML
>solutions to my _web problems_ and I (and I presume other Libraries
>and IT institutions) have to find workarounds.  To say that people who
>need to share information expressed as mathematical or other formulas, as
>one case in point, have the background to use other formats (as I have
>seen on this list) is off the mark because it just ain't so.

Rob,

There is an obvious need for a math solution that I'm sure few on the HTML
working group would contest. As Dan pointed out, priority has often been
given to proposals that attempt to stem any growing movement away from
standards, as we began to see in 'INSERT/EMBED/etc.' proposals and
counter-proposals.

>> 1. Propose
>> 2. Experiment

These are the parts we currently lack. #1. Someone needs to draft a
proposal, then #2. someone needs to provide working models of the proposal.
After 3.0 expired, Dave's work on HTML tables continued, but nobody has yet
created an HTML math draft. In order to reach any type of consensus this is
necessary, and we just haven't seen it happen WRT math markup.

I believe the Arena browser implements some math features, but I don't know
if they are based on the original HTML 3.0 draft or not. W3C's activity
area lists math under

    http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/Math.html

BTW, Dan is the editor of that page.

Murray

__________________________________________________________________
      Murray M. Altheim, Information Systems Analyst
      National Technology Transfer Center, Wheeling, West Virginia
      email: murray.altheim@nttc.edu
      www:   http://ogopogo.nttc.edu/people/maltheim/maltheim.html

Received on Monday, 15 January 1996 19:13:35 UTC