MathML-Next Elements and Attributes

[AdamSobieski]

Introduction

Combining and summarizing ideas from both #68 and #74, a tabulation of potential MathML4 elements and their attributes is presented. This document is a work in progress. Comments and discussion are welcomed.

The <math> element

Attribute	Values	Default	Description	Status
id	string	none	The id attribute specifies its element’s unique identifier (ID). See also: HTML5 id attribute	-
style	string	none	See also: HTML5 style attribute, CSS Style Attributes	-
class	string	none	The class attribute’s value must be a set of space-separated tokens representing the various classes that the element belongs to. See also: HTML5 class attribute	-
display	"block" | "inline"	"inline"	Specifies whether the enclosed MathML expression should be rendered as a separate vertical block (in display style) or inline, aligned with adjacent text.	-
maxwidth	length	available width	Specifies the maximum width to be used for linebreaking. The default is the maximum width available in the surrounding environment. If that value cannot be determined, the renderer should assume an infinite rendering width.	-
overflow	"linebreak" | "scroll" | "elide" | "truncate" | "scale"	"linebreak"	Specifies the preferred handing in cases where an expression is too long to fit in the allowed width.	-
altimg	URI	none	Provides a URI referring to an image to display as a fall-back for user agents that do not support embedded MathML.	deprecate?
altimg-width	length	width of altimg	Specifies the width to display altimg, scaling the image if necessary; See altimg-height.	deprecate?
altimg-height	length	height of altimg	Specifies the height to display altimg, scaling the image if necessary; if only one of the attributes altimg-width and altimg-height are given, the scaling should preserve the image's aspect ratio; if neither attribute is given, the image should be shown at its natural size.	deprecate?
altimg-valign	length | "top" | "middle" | "bottom"	0ex	Specifies the vertical alignment of the image with respect to adjacent inline material.	deprecate?
alttext	string	none	Provides a textual alternative as a fall-back for user agents that do not support embedded MathML or images.	deprecate?
cdgroup	URI	none	Specifies a CD group file that acts as a catalogue of CD bases for locating OpenMath content dictionaries of csymbol, annotation, and annotation-xml elements in this math element.	deprecate?
src	URI	none	The location of an external MathML resource. See also: HTML5 <img> element and <object> element	proposed (#68)

Deprecating alttext

Instead of the alttext attribute on the top-level <math> element, “presentation” annotations of type text/plain could be utilized.

<math id="eq1">
  <semantics>
    <mrow>default</mrow>
    <annotation encoding="text/plain">Alternative text version of expression.</annotation>
  </semantics>
</math>

<math id="eq1">
  <semantics>
    <mrow>default</mrow>
    <annotation encoding="text/plain" src="eq1.txt" />
  </semantics>
</math>

<math id="eq1">
  <semantics>
    <mrow>default</mrow>
    <annotation encoding="text/plain" lang="en fr es de" pattern="eq1-{lang}.txt" />
  </semantics>
</math>

Deprecating altimg, altimg-width, altimg-height, and altimg-valign

Instead of the altimg, altimg-width, altimg-height, altimg-valign attributes on the top-level <math> element, “presentation” annotations of types image/* could be utilized with CSS styling.

<math id="eq1">
  <semantics>
    <mrow>default</mrow>
    <annotation encoding="image/png" src="data:..." />
  </semantics>
</math>

<math id="eq1">
  <semantics>
    <mrow>default</mrow>
    <annotation encoding="image/png" src="eq1.png" />
  </semantics>
</math>

<math id="eq1">
  <semantics>
    <mrow>default</mrow>
    <annotation encoding="image/png" lang="en fr es de" pattern="eq1-{lang}.png" />
  </semantics>
</math>

The <semantics> element

Attribute	Values	Default	Description	Status
annotated	"first" | "none"	"first"	Indicates the behavior of the element	proposed

The <annotation> and <annotation-xml> elements

Attribute	Values	Default	Description	Status
id	string	none	The id attribute specifies its element’s unique identifier (ID). See also: HTML5 id attribute	-
definitionURL	URI	none	The location of the annotation key symbol.	deprecate?
encoding	string	none	The encoding of the semantic information in the annotation.	-
cd	string	"mathmlkeys"	The content dictionary that contains the annotation key symbol.	deprecate?
name	string	"alternate-representation"	The name of the annotation key symbol.	deprecate?
src	URI	none	The location of an external resource.	-
lang	string	none	A BCP47 attribute for internationalization.	proposed (#68)
notation	string	none	An attribute for specifying mathematical notation.	proposed (#68)
media	string	none	An attribute for specifying media queries.	proposed (#68)
q	numbers between 0.0 and 1.0	none	An attribute for specifying the relative quality of alternatives.	proposed (#68)
pattern	string	none	An attribute which utilizes string interpolation to generate values for the src attribute.	proposed (#68)
method	"get" | "post"	"get"	An attribute for HTTP POST indicating the HTTP verb or method. See also: HTML5 <form> element.	proposed (#74)
enctype	"application/x-www-form-urlencoded" | "multipart/form-data" | "text/plain"	"application/x-www-form-urlencoded"	The enctype attribute is an enumerated attribute that specifies how data should be encoded in an HTTP POST. See also: HTML5 <form> element.	proposed (#74)
accept-charset	string	none	The accept-charset attribute gives the character encodings that are to be used in an HTTP POST. See also: HTML5 <form> element.	proposed (#74)
data	string	none	The data of an HTTP POST specified as a string value which utilizes string interpolation.	proposed (#74)

Two annotation elements or one?

Do we need two annotation elements, <annotation> and <annotation-xml>, or might one element, <annotation>, suffice?

[Jamesernator]

I'm definitely a fan of deprecating cdgroup as suggested. Without it, even an unattached <csymbol> will have a meaningful definition, which helps a lot for programmatic manipulation of content mathml elements.

[Jamesernator]

In regards to deprecating cd/definitionURL/name on <annotation-xml>/<annotation>, how should mathmltypes be rewritten? e.g. For now you can do:

<semantics>
  <ci>x</ci>
  <annotation-xml cd="mathmltypes" name="type" encoding="MathML-Content">
    <apply>
      <csymbol cd="sts2">vector_n</csymbol>
      <cn type="integer">3</cn>
      <complexes/>
    </apply>
  </annotation-xml>
</semantics>

[dginev]

[minor admin] In the MathML Full WG meeting on Sep 28th, 2023, we agreed to re-title issues scheduled for the next charter with "MathML-Next", to avoid confusion.