Re: HTML (not XHTML) with MathML embedded

David Carlisle <davidc@nag.co.uk> writes:

> It would be possible to derive an SGML rather than XML based DTD for
> MathML (and so use SGML syntax such as <log> rather than <log/> )
> and then use that it the SGML based HTML DTD but
>
> a) I don't think any MathML system (including Mozilla's renderer) would
> understand the resulting markup unless it was first converted to XML and
>
> b) I don't think anyone has yet made such a DTD. (I thought at one time
> that such a DTD might be useful for DocBook or TEI integration but both
> those languages moved towards XML so the necessity of an SGML compatible
> DTD version seemed to go away)

Yes.  Since the vocabulary of MathML is not author friendly, I doubt if
there is much justification for expending the effort to make provision
for MathML in non-XML document types.

On the other hand, the desire for author-friendly SGML document
types providing mathematical markup and admitting translation to
XML document types that include MathML is worthwhile.

>  . . .  It may be possible to build an SGML declaration that allows
> the use of SGML-notation empty elements (<br> <hr>) in some parts of
> the document and XML notation empty elements (<log/> <sin/>
> elsewhere) but I haven't seen anyone attempt this.

One can build an SGML declaration for an SGML document type with
which a defined-empty element may be marked up in any of three ways:
(1) <foo>, (2) <foo></foo>, and (3) <foo/>.*  This is, in fact, the
case with the SGML version of "article" in gellmu's didactic
production system.  ( It would be sensible for HTML 4.02.  :-)

Didn't the OP also ask if it would be reasonable for XHTML+MathML to
be mime-typed as "text/html"?  Some of us once thought so and may
still think so, but we lost that battle.

Cheers.

                                    -- Bill

* corresponding, respectively, to "\foo ", "\foo{}", and "\foo;"

Received on Monday, 7 June 2004 14:09:08 UTC