Mathematics is an essential aspect of science
and education. So, to realize the potential of the Web for science, it
must be possible to use mathematics on the Web. Mathematical
expressions must move seamlessly between the Web and a wide range of
environments including authoring tools, content management systems,
XML-based work flows, e-learning environments, and scientific
computing software.
W3C brought together key players and major stake holders and formed the Math Working Group. It created and maintains the Mathematical Markup Language (MathML), a highly structured, information-rich, XML encoding for mathematical expressions.
MathML facilitates authoring and presentation of mathematical expressions in print and on the screen, and forms the basis for machine to machine communication of mathematics on the Web. MathML provides two sets of tags, one for the presentation of mathematics and the other associated with the meaning behind equations. MathML is not designed for hand-editing; specialized tools provide the means for typing and editing mathematical expressions.
The MathML 1.0 Recommendation appeared on 7 April 1998. The latest version, version 3.0, became a Recommendation on 21 October 2010. It includes OpenMath Content Dictionaries, and supports right-to-left writing, such as used in some countries with Arabic script. The 2nd edition (10 April 2014) synchronized it with Unicode 6.
The Math WG finished the second edition of MathML 3 in April 2014, along with the second edition of XML Entity Definitions for Characters. The new editions add no new capabilities, but synchronize the specifications with Unicode (now version 6) and enhance many examples. Also the description of how MathML integrates with HTML is now much easier to follow.
The group continues to accompany the use of MathML in other W3C technologies and maintain the MathML specifications and related resources, as needed. The group may publish Notes (“best practices”) from time to time, but no new deliverables are currently planned.
W3C submitted the MathML 3 Recommendation to ISO and the specification is currently in ballot. It is expected to become an ISO standard in 2015.
| Group | Chair | Team Contact | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math Working Group (participants) | Patrick D F Ion, David Carlisle | Bert Bos | Chartered until 31 March 2016 |
This Activity Statement was prepared for TPAC 2014 per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.
Bert Bos, Math Activity LeadModified:
$Date: 2015-03-05 08:41:37 $