RE: Validation of MathML

Robert Miner [mailto:RobertM@dessci.com] wrote on 26 February 2003 18:31:
> Hi Simon,
> 
> There are a couple of validation tools in the WebEQ Developers
> Suite that can be used in batch mode.  In particular, the WebEQ
> Equation Server can be used on the command line or from a script to
> run through an XML file, checking each MathML instance, and dumping
> errors to a file.  The validation is not quite as strong as that in
> MathPlayer, but it is far better than merely validating against the
> DTD.  Since validation is really a side-effect of the Equation Server
> (which is aimed primarily at batch conversion of MathML), the
> validation is not as flexible, nor the output as detailed as one might
> like.  But it is a good start.

That sounds good, although it is a limitation that the validation is not a
goal in itself.

> You can grab an evaluation version of the WebEQ Developers Suite at
> http://www.dessci.com/dl.  

I will grab the evaluation copy and test it.

I get the impression that most MathML users rely on the validation by their
authoring tool. Is that right? So we seem to be adding a new aspect to
MathML validation: validating documents containing MathML from various
sources, independently of the creation tools.

While I was working on this, I started to wonder why the DTD is formulated
in such a loose manner. At first sight several of the requirements listed in
section 3.1.3.2 could have been enforced in the DTD (that would only be for
presentation MathML; I am not sure whether the same would be true for
content MathML). Or are there hidden problems, which I will discover when I
try to work out this idea?

With kind regards,
Simon Pepping
DTD Development and Maintenance
Elsevier
s.pepping@elsevier.com
www.elsevier.com/locate/sgml

Received on Thursday, 27 February 2003 09:18:10 UTC