Most recent change of MathsMode

Edit made on September 14, 2014 by ColinWright at 09:04:03

Deleted text in red / Inserted text in green
WM
HEADERS_END
Clearly it would be nice to be able to enter equations
and the like, but there's only so much you can do in HTML.
It's suggested that a limited form of maths mode would be
useful.

HTML has some pretty fundamental limitations when it comes
to type-setting. Originally it was specifically not intended
to allow tight control of page-layout - it was as its name
says: Hyper Text Markup Language. "Hyper Text" because it
allows links, and "Markup Language" because it allows the
text to be marked up with *bold,* /italic,/ and other simple
changes.

When it hit the mass ~mass market, however, people wanted tighter
control over how their pages looked. HTML has accordingly
been enhanced with tables and other layout features, but it
still lacks basic mathematics layout. This is, to be fair,
because maths layout is */hard./* Really hard. There is
an entire system called IMG:LaTeX2.png (pronounced lay-tek)
designed to deal with it.

Having said all that, we've now provided a facility for
creating equations. You have to type the equation into
the text box - you can't cut-n-paste pretty pictures as
you can in MathType and similar packages, but you can get
some effective equations. Just type *~EQN:* *EQN*:* and then
your equation.

Here are some really simple equations to give you the idea:
[[[
| !* This text _ !* in the edit box | *produces* _ !* this image |
| ~EQN:x^2 ~EQN : x^2 | EQN:x^2 |
| ~EQN:x_0 ~EQN : x_0 | EQN:x_0 |
| ~EQN:\frac{num}{den} ~EQN : \frac{num}{den} | EQN:\frac{num}{den} |
| ~EQN:\int{x}.dx ~EQN : \int{x}.dx | EQN:\int{x}.dx |
| ~EQN:x^2+y^2=z^2 ~EQN : x^2+y^2=z^2 | EQN:x^2+y^2=z^2 |
]]]

Now for some more complex examples:
[[[
| !* This text _ !* in the edit box | *produces* _ !* this image |
| ~EQN:\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{x^2}dx ~EQN : \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{x^2}dx | EQN:\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{x^2}dx |
| ~EQN:x\longrightarrow[50]^gy ~EQN : x\longrightarrow[50]^gy | EQN:x\longrightarrow[50]^gy |
| ~EQN:y=\left\{\text{this\\that}\right. ~EQN : y=\left\{\text{this\\that}\right. | EQN:y=\left\{\text{this\\that}\right. |
| ~EQN:\begin{matrix}a_1&a_2&a_3\\b_1&b_2&b_3\end{matrix} ~EQN : \begin{matrix}a_1&a_2&a_3\\b_1&b_2&b_3\end{matrix} | EQN:\begin{matrix}a_1&a_2&a_3\\b_1&b_2&b_3\end{matrix} |
| ~EQN:\normalsize{f}(x)=\int\limits_{-\infty}^xe^{-t^2}dt ~EQN : \normalsize{f}(x)=\int\limits_{-\infty}^xe^{-t^2}dt | EQN:\normalsize{f}(x)=\int\limits_{-\infty}^xe^{-t^2}dt |
| ~EQN:\LARGE{x}=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a} ~EQN : \LARGE{x}=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a} | EQN:\LARGE{x}=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a} |
| ~EQN : \int_0^\infty{x^2+y_0}(\frac{a+b}{c})dx | EQN:\int_0^\infty{x^2+y_0}(\frac{a+b}{c})dx |
]]]

The "limits" keyword can be used to put things above or below the previous symbol:
* EQN:x\limits^{above}_{below} EQN : x\limits^{above}_{below} - EQN:x\limits^{.} EQN:x\limits{-}{.}

That's not required for some symbols: EQN:\hat~x EQN:\hat{x}

Bold is achieved using \b \bf - limit its scope by using braces:
* EQN:{\b~x}y EQN:{\bf~x}y
In the last two examples note the use of a tilde ("~") where we would normally want a space.


Here's a link to a longer explanation, and a box where you can test things:
* http://www.forkosh.dreamhost.com/source_mimetexmanual.html#preview