Re: rendering entities

Stan Devitt wrote:
> Bruce,
> 
> See my comments below about unicode and double-struck D.
> 
> 
> Stan
> 
> On 4/24/06, *Bruce Miller* < bruce.miller@nist.gov 
> <mailto:bruce.miller@nist.gov>> wrote:
> 
> 
>     In other words, it seems to have been another historical development
>     that we're kinda stuck with.  As David says below: "That's life"
> 
> 
> [Stan]
> We are not "Stuck with it."  It is very fortunate (and no accident) that 
> it is worded this way.  (See my earlier many to many mapping comment.)
> 
> Mathematics provides a special challenge to unicode because a large 
> collection of characters are re-used with alternative meanings on a 
> regular basis.
> 
> The formal mathematical definition of differential depends very heavily 
> on the mathematical domain intended by the author and the differences 
> could be important.
> So it can be wrong to map the character to one specific precise  
> mathematical  definition with this character in unicode.   
> 
> The current wording is needed  so that authors are free to re-use the 
> characters in other mathematical contexts.  This re-use is deliberate.  
> Authors often re-use the symbol because a new concept behaves in a 
> similar fashion to the the original use of the character. The phrase 
> "often used for differentials" is about as far as you can go.

Hi Stan;
  Not to drag this out any more than necessary, but...
  I can accept that rationale too, but doesn't it just
point the question at the other end?
Ie. Since having a differential doesn't require &DifferentialD;
nor does using &DifferentialD; imply a differential,
why bother defining &DifferentialD; at all? 
(double-struck d is already available with mathvariant)
Or, why not call it &doublestruckd; ?

-- 
bruce.miller@nist.gov
http://math.nist.gov/~BMiller/

Received on Monday, 24 April 2006 22:38:43 UTC