Re: MathML in Arabic

Hi everybody

In order to give an overview of some of the issues involved in writing or 
displaying mathematical equations in Arabic, and some of the needed 
features in mathml, I've posted a 5 page introductory paper at

http://www.rubicon.com.jo/papers/MathML-Arabic.pdf

The intended audience for this paper is primarily those who are not 
familiar with the basic issues of writing mathematical equations in 
Arabic. 

We have been working on a partial solution to writing mathematical 
equation in Arabic within a consistent system. The best & most suitable 
system is of course mathml, but as everybody knows, this lacks the specs 
for right-to-left & non-latin based systems.

Our approach to the problem is line with any typical xml based solutions: 
separate the information from the presentation, and deal with each 
separately.

The information contained in the equation is "universal" in the sense that 
what the equation says is the same regardless of how one represents it. So 
whatever system needs to be developed or specified, it must be capable of 
storing & describing the equation. That is, the mathml description of the 
equation might need to be abstracted slightly.

The presentation aspect of the equation is now language specific. In any 
ML based system, this would be the job of the xsl/xslt & the presentation 
software. 

Separating the info from the presentation, and possibly abstracting the 
info would also allow for "automatic" translation of equations into 
multi-languages on the fly. In the system we are envisioning, this would 
(or should) simply involve changing two to three attributes (like lang, 
dir, and map).

The font issue, though important in any application, is secondary to the 
specs of the system.

Regards,
Isam.

======================================
  Dr. Isam S. Ayoubi 
  Managing Partner - Rubicon 
  P.O. Box 5296,  Amman, 11183 - Jordan
  Tel: +962.6.5933676 & 5933686 
  Fax: +962.6.5933696 
  Mob. +962.79.5511332
  www.rubicon.com.jo 
  email: Isam.Ayoubi@rubicon.com.jo 
======================================