Re:MathML is a failed web standard
by ga6840 on Thursday April 07, 2016 @05:10PM
(#11450751)
I think we do not need semantic representation in HTML case at all. For example, f(x+1) can be a multiplication, or a function, but should we write something like \function f (x+1) ? I think knowing the layout similarity with query is enough for math-ware search engine to identify similar math expressions. Adding too much in Math HTML standard is not helpful but redundant.
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For sighted users it may be possible to differentiate, but whether "f of x plus 1" or "f times x plus 1" is read aloud is a significant difference.
What I really want to say is whether f(x+1) is function or multiplication does not matter that much in terms of both browser presenting and math-aware search, moreover, extracting semantics can be done by algorithm from context. Considering that few author want to annotate on their expression semantic, and adding semantic does not really help math-aware search, I argue for the necessity for bringing math semantic notation into WEB.