Re: arXiv updates and MathML Intent

Hi Paul,

The main reference for :literal is likely at:
https://w3c.github.io/mathml-docs/literal-common-properties#example-defaults

To my understanding, ATs have freedom how to vocalize the literal character
content of U+25A1 □
In particular, an AT may want to localize the character to a desired
natural language different from English.
Speaking the Unicode name is certainly a very reliable starting point (it
is already well-defined on all inputs).

But if there is a better way to narrate than "white square" and an AT
implementer wants to provide a consistent experience where they don't
tightly follow all Unicode names, that should be fine as well I think.
The key directive prescribed by :literal is to describe the written
contents, so I expect possible alternatives to be akin to "hollow square",
"square frame symbol", etc.

I expect for a while all implementers of :literal will rely on the Unicode
names, but the future often surprises me.

Greetings,
Deyan


On Thu, Sep 18, 2025 at 1:36 PM Paul Libbrecht <paul@hoplahup.net> wrote:

> Hello Deyan,
>
> So what is supposed to be the pronunciation of the box symbol there
> supposing to represent the cartesian product of graphs ? □
>
> According to:
> https://w3c.github.io/mathml-docs/unicode-speech/
> It would be called (for 25A1 □): *white square*
> Similarly, the double-lined-right-arrow ⇒ should be called *implies* but
> would be called “rightwards double arrow”.
>
> Am I understanding it right that this is what literal would mean? Is this
> “left to interpretation to the AT” ?
>
> Paul
>
> On 17 Sep 2025, at 23:39, Deyan Ginev wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> As of this morning, arXiv's experimental HTML pages are now using an
> intent attribute for the first  time. Namely, each math element is
> annotated with the ":literal" property.
>
> ":literal" values are the only reliable starting point for graduate level
> texts in STEM, where simple heuristics fail as often as they succeed (if
> that). They fit Louis' pragmatic stance of "just show me what the author
> has written", while also allowing more informed intent attributes to be
> deposited on the subtrees, when known.
>
> Additional intent upgrades are interesting future work for arXiv - and
> LaTeXML. We would like to gradually enrich subtrees, whenever we have
> sufficient confidence we can infer the mathematical concepts.
>
> These new attributes for arXiv are only starting to trickle in with the
> article batches announced daily. It will take a full regeneration of the
> collection to have them everywhere. That could happen near the end of 2025,
> maybe just in time for the MathML 4 CR phase. We'll see.
>
> Here is one random recently announced article, to illustrate today's
> changes:
> https://arxiv.org/html/2509.12354v1
>
> P.S. My regrets for tomorrow's WG meeting, I will be traveling.
>
> Greetings,
> Deyan
>
>