XHTML+MathML doctype declaration ... // "Putting mathematics on the Web with MathML"

there are two different versions of a "XHTML 1.1 +MathML 2.0"-DTD:

   [1] http://www.w3.org/TR/MathML2/dtd/xhtml-math11-f.dtd
   [2] http://www.w3.org/Math/DTD/mathml2/xhtml-math11-f.dtd


The MathML 2.0 Recommendation 21 February 2001 recommands the doctype declaration [1]:


	A.2 MathML as a DTD Module
	[...]

	<!DOCTYPE html
   		 PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1 plus MathML 2.0//EN"
           		"http://www.w3.org/TR/MathML2/dtd/xhtml-math11-f.dtd"
	>


The MathML 2.0 (second edition) Working Draft 11 April 2003 recommands the doctype declaration [2]:


	A.2.3 MathML as a DTD Module 
	[...]
	<!DOCTYPE html
   		 PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1 plus MathML 2.0//EN"
           		"http://www.w3.org/Math/DTD/mathml2/xhtml-math11-f.dtd"
	>





In practice only the docttype declaration [2] workes with IE  ( tested with IE6 ).
The doctype declaration [1] forces the error message:

	Parameter entity must be defined before it is used. 
	Error processing resource 'http://www.w3.org/TR/MathML2/dtd/xhtml-math11-f.dtd'. Line 148, Position 2 

	%xhtml-prefw-redecl.mod;
	-^




Since many people report problems in several newsgroups about the question
how to publish MathML, I think it would be no fault to place a note in the
page "Putting mathematics on the Web with MathML" (www.w3.org/Math/XSL/)
about what doctype declaration should be used if one wants that it realy works.

Furthermore the page  "Putting mathematics on the Web with MathML" misses a hint on
what Mime-types should be used to serve the XHTML+MathML documents and
the XSLT stylesheets.

Currently only very obstinate and technical skilled people have a chance to
successfully publish XHTML+MathML (!).

I guess we all in this group have an interest in a wide spreading MathML usage.
So I think we should make things as easy as possible.  

I think the "Putting mathematics on the Web with MathML"-page could be made 
more user friendly and complete with little effort.
Why not making a Step by step user guide like most software installtion guides look like?



Bernhard Keil
mailto:Bernhard.Keil@soft4science.com

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soft4science             Bernhard Keil
Nibelungenstr. 4        80639 Munich       Germany
+49 89 / 95 411 088  http://www.soft4science.com  
+49 173 / 72 53 669  http://www.MathML.net

Received on Sunday, 15 June 2003 13:48:45 UTC