Mathematical content in documentation (DITA Europe 2008)

Mathematical Content in
Documentation
DITA Europe, November 2008
DITA Europe 2008: Mathematical Content
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Introduction
• Lois Patterson
• Creating technical documentation since 1995
• Currently working at QuIC Financial
Technologies: www.quic.com
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Mathematical content in
documentation: the challenges
In general:
• Mixture of text and alien formats
• Not understood by many tools
• Output is always a challenge
For me:
• Legacy documentation
• Multiple input formats
• Highly complex, mathematical content
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Where do we start?
• Tools galore, but no standard solution.
• Many ways to create different solutions.
• What solutions best meet everyone’s needs:
SMEs, tech writers, users?
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What is mathematical content?
• Sometimes just graphics
• Equations created in Word or FrameMaker
• TeX code
• SVG code
• MathML
• Any others?
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Where does DITA fit?
• DITA ≠ out of the box solution for math.
• DITA and the ideas flowing from DITA still
valuable for mathematical content.
• Maturity model concept can also apply to
mathematical content within DITA.
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DITA Maturity Model
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Presentation and markup for math
• “Just” graphics and text
• TeX/LaTeX
• MathML
• SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
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TeX/LaTeX: a brief introduction
• For scientific and mathematical notation, TeX
typesetting language invented in 1976.
• LaTeX is TeX plus macros for typesetting.
• Many theses and scientific articles written in
TeX/LaTeX. E.g. http://www.livingreviews.org
• TeX is a presentation language; no semantic
meaning.
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What is MathML?
• “[An] XML application for describing mathematical
notation and capturing both its structure and
content. The goal of MathML is to enable
mathematics to be served, received, and processed
on the World Wide Web, just as HTML has enabled
this functionality for text.”http://www.w3.org/Math/
• Presentation MathML, focus on presentation,
produces very long markup.
• Content MathML includes no presentation
information. Can use stylesheets.
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Content MathML example
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One equation: multiple formats
Black-Scholes equation - Nobel-Prize-winning equation.
Foundation of financial mathematics.
We’ll see:
PNG
TeX
MathML
SVG
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Black-Scholes equation example (from Wikipedia)
Highlighted equation is a .png file, with
the TeX markup as ALT text in the HTML
markup.
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Black-Scholes equation format
comparison
Graphic (.png)
TeX Markup
C(S_0,T) = e^{-rT}(FPhi(d_1) - KPhi(d_2))
What about MathML for this equation?
Too long to show on one page.
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Black-Scholes: MathML
LaTex converted to MathML,
displayed in browser MathML Source
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Converted LaTeX to Presentation MathML with a LaTeX to
MathML converter: http://www.maths.nottingham.ac.uk/personal/drw/lm.html

Black-Scholes equation example:
SVG
• Using converter*, I produced SVG markup.
• SVG is XML markup, also viewable in FireFox.
• Can be rendered as raster graphics with Java
or Python packages.
• Small snippet:
<symbol overflow="visible" id="glyph2-1"><path style="stroke: none;" d="M 3.59375 -2.21875 C 3.59375 -2.984375 3.5 -3.546875 3.1875 -4.03125 C
2.96875 -4.34375 2.53125 -4.625 1.984375 -4.625 C 0.359375 -4.625 0.359375 -2.71875 0.359375 -2.21875 C 0.359375 -1.71875 0.359375 0.140625
1.984375 0.140625 C 3.59375 0.140625 3.59375 -1.71875 3.59375 -2.21875 Z M 1.984375 -0.0625 C 1.65625 -0.0625 1.234375 -0.25 1.09375 -0.8125
C 1 -1.21875 1 -1.796875 1 -2.3125 C 1 -2.828125 1 -3.359375 1.09375 -3.734375 C 1.25 -4.28125 1.6875 -4.4375 1.984375 -4.4375 C 2.359375
-4.4375 2.71875 -4.203125 2.84375 -3.796875 C 2.953125 -3.421875 2.96875 -2.921875 2.96875 -2.3125 C 2.96875 -1.796875 2.96875 -1.28125
2.875 -0.84375 C 2.734375 -0.203125 2.265625 -0.0625 1.984375 -0.0625 Z M 1.984375 -0.0625 "/></symbol>
* http://www.tlhiv.org/ltxpreview/ DITA Europe 2008: Mathematical Content
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DITA and MathML and SVG
• DITA 1.1 supports the <foreign> element.
• Can specialize to support the inclusion of
MathML and SVG in your DITA topics.
• If we use a combination of standard DITA,
MathML, and SVG, will we achieve utopia?
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Customize DITA Open Toolkit to
work with MathML and SVG
• Can use the Plus Plugins provided on the DITA-
Users group:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/dita-users/fi
• DITA-Users group provides a great deal of help
– highly recommended!
• XMetal and MathFlow can be tweaked so that
the DITA Open Toolkit works with
MathML/SVG.
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Documentation lifecycle
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Input
• Microsoft Word with MathType
• Open Office with built-in math editor
• FrameMaker with Equation Editor
• XMetal (or Arbortext) + MathFlow
• TeX/LaTeX
• Scribbled on scrap paper
• Create yourself, or take what is given you?
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Input – standards or not?
• SMEs provide content however I can get it.
• Enforcement of standards for input would be
counterproductive.
• Anyone with success enforcing standards for
input?
• Difficulty is that many input formats do not
play well with DITA.
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Input: Microsoft Word with
MathType
• A WYSIWYG editor, MathType can output
Presentation MathML or LaTeX.
• Somewhat harder from LaTeX or MathML
back to editing in MathType.
• How to avoid cut and paste if your content is
in DITA topics?
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Open Office with built-in math
editor
• Free tool.
• Easy to use.
• Math editor outputs MathML.
• Integration with DITA possible, but not
seamless.
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FrameMaker with Equation Editor
• FrameMaker has many positive qualities.
• Only supports DITA 1.0 currently - OK if your
math content will just be graphics.
• Equation Editor does not “naturally” output to
LaTeX or MathML.
• Can use in conjunction with Mif2Go, but still
math will be graphics only.
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XMetal (or Arbortext) + MathFlow
• Slick combination, fun to work with.
• MathFlow is similar to MathType (both are
Design Science products).
• Can customize the DITA OT that comes with
XMetal/Arbortext for math output.
• Perfect for DITA authoring.
• Unlikely your SMEs use this combination.
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MathFlow Exchange
• ImportsWord + MathType documents, and
exports them into Arbortext as XML +
MathML. You may be able to DITA-cize the
content.
• Is DITA the guiding principle or an
afterthought?
• Dealing with mathematical content is like a
never-ending conversion project.
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LaTeX input
• Convert LaTeX equations to MathML, or
graphics.
• Convert LaTeX documents (like an article) to
HTML + graphics.
• Use Hermes technology to convert to xHTML +
graphics.
• No straight line to DITA.
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Scrap paper input
• More work for me, but I can enter it into
whatever program I like!
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Review strategies
• Get basic input, integrate it with non-math
text.
• Review is crucial, but how?
• If you use DITA, difficult to allow direct editing
by SMEs.
• In practice with non-DITA documentation,
SMEs rarely directly edit anyway.
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Ideal review solution
• Our SMEs want to be able to review and edit
equations in real time.
• How?
• Publish DITA content to a Confluence Wiki, enable
editing, republish.
• Lombardi Software – DITA to Wiki
• Many details to work out.
• Keeping TeX markup accessible will be paramount.
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Publishing outputs
Some choices:
• xHTML + MathML
• xHTML + graphics
• .chm with graphics
• PDF with graphics
All require modifying the DITA OT. Plus Plugins
(as mentioned earlier) are very helpful.
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Output: xHTML with MathML
• If everyone uses FireFox, or Internet Explorer
with MathPlayer, this is a great solution.
• Falls apart if a documentation user has a
different environment.
• Still need ways of introducing index,
searchability, etc. (like you can do with
EclipseHelp). Standard DITA issues.
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Other output formats
• xHTML + graphics
• .chm with graphics
• PDF with graphics
If you have MathML and want these formats,
you must render MathML as graphics.
This will require modifying build scripts,
installing DITA OT plugins, and using Java or
other rendering tools.
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Rendering tools
• MimeTeX renders TeX equations as .gifs.
• Java packages jeuclid and batik render
MathML.
• Antenna House renders MathML for HTML
and PDF.
www.forkosh.dreamhost.com/mimetex.html
jeuclid.sourceforge.net/
xmlgraphics.apache.org/batik/
www.antennahouse.com/product/mathml.htm
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Less-explored options
• Building applications with Adobe AIR.
• Adobe PDFs can manage some mathematically
relevant wizardry.
• What could you do with Math and Flash?
• How would these integrate with DITA?
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As we become more mature . . . .
• Make math equations searchable.
• Work with metadata, attributes.
• This is a Ph.D thesis topic, and not one we will
solve here.
• Google the following:
Mowgli project
A More Canonical Form of Content MathML to Facilitate Math
Search
An Investigation of Index Formats for the Search of MathML
Objects
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DITA Europe 2008
• Thank you for attending.
• Resources URL:
http://dita.xml.org/blog/loisbc
• Email: LoisRPatterson@gmail.com
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