Introduction

MathTran is a JISC funded project to provide translation of mathematical content as a web service. This pages here provide information about the project. We have set up a separate MathTran server that which will offer translation of mathematical content as a web service.

This project will started on 1 December 2006, and finish on 30 June 2007.

Mathematical Content

Mathematical content presents particular difficulties in both print and electronic media. Accented and non-latin characters used to cause electronic difficulties, until Unicode replaced the previous 8-bit (256 possible values) character sets. Now it is possible to cut and paste Greek, for example, from a web page and into a Word document. But not mathematics.

The project will contribute to the program by easing the problems caused by mathematical content in electronic media. We expect its contribution to grow over time, as its key tools become more widely accepted.

The Ideal Solution

An ideal solution would

  1. Accept LaTeX input
  2. Use TeX typography
  3. Convert to and from MathML
  4. Provided graphics outputs in multiple formats
  5. Be efficient, and support interactive (instant preview or wysiwyg) use
  6. Run everywhere, from web server to stand-alone PC
  7. Handle the full range of published mathematical constructions
  8. Integrate with other applications, e.g. that need to edit or display mathematical content

Where we are now

The Higher Education community is a long way from having an ideal solution. There is at present a patchwork of partial solutions. The most widespread solution, for print, is to use LaTeX in the traditional way. This fails, for electronic media, on 3, 5, 6 and 8. It is also very closely tied to using LaTeX not only for the mathematics but also the text. Our proposal will address these points but will leave further work on 6 and 7 to realise the ideal solution.

There is, of course, pressure to remedy the deficits in any partial solution. This can lead to unanticipated and uncomfortable programming requirements, or worse development dead ends.

To learn more

Further information can be found on the Project page on this site, and on the MathTran page at JISC. Alternatively, you might like to read the project proposal (PDF, 117Kb).