Re[2]: Math module (Re[2]: web site)

[Giuseppe Bilotta <bourbaki@bigfoot.com>]

Wednesday, November 14, 2001 Hans Hagen wrote:

HH> much of the math module can go or remapped onto other context
HH> things; actually i want a much more higher level package (also
HH> moe tuned for educational purposes). The main thing in the
HH> math module is the breaking of long formulas and bold fonts.

HH> What exactly is it that latex math has that context doesn't?

Mostly user level commands to ease the use of different kinds of
equations/equation groups, and better for to plain TeX commands,
sometimes with automatic things.

All of them can be achieved via plain TeX (obviously), but with
*much* more troubles. If you want, I can send you the PDF manual
created by the .dtx file (something like a compiled module in
ConTeXt) -- 320Kb, about 90 pages of commented code.

Breaking equations is *not* an AMS-LaTeX feature. AFAIK it comes
from the (LaTeX) package breqn.

Anyway, AMS features can be summed up as:

(1) choice of placement of limits on or around integrals,
sums/products and operator names (three options), and more generic
forms of integrals. Not hard to implement, I would say. And AFAIK
functioning from Taco's module.

(2) flushing equations left or centering them. Haven't tested this
in Taco's module.

(3) a \text command which inserts standard text with appropriate
font size (small in superscripts, etc). AFAIK, functioning from
Taco's module.

(4) Poor man's bold and bold symbols. I don't need this (so I
won't try to implement it), but others might.

(5) Operator names. AFAIK, functioning from Taco's module.

(6) Math spacing commands, functioning in text as well

(7) Various ellipsis positioning (bottom, middle, etc), with
choice of autodetection of correct position depending on
surrounding text.

(8) single-command calls to \left| and friends (\lvert, etc)

(9) Fractions in the form \frac{num}{den} and friends (a LaTeX-way
wrapper around \over and friends). AFAIK, functioning from Taco's
module.

(10) different roots and radicals management.

(11) Greek letter variants which do not overwrite original defs

(12) More delimiter sizes, and more generic commands to choose
them

(13) Math accents (more and with better positioning). Very tricky,
and AFAIK the less functioning part of Taco's module. But even in
LaTeX it's a horrible hack (as it is whenever something depends on
fonts ...). Probably needs core hooks and switches. But I assume
you already had a talk with Taco on this.

(14) Extensible arrows.

And serious stuff like:

(15) subarray (for super/subscripter arrays); substack as a
variation for it

(16) matrices (including environment cases)

(17) subequations and their numbering; appropriate equation
numbering; tag (number) placement (top, bottom, center; style;
cancelling it)

(18) multiline equations, split by the user, with choice of
alignment (both full split equation and partial split equations,
as a subenvironment of another display math)

(19) equation groups with and without alignment

(20) quick choice of the different combos (aligned, nonaligned,
numbered and unnumbered). Shortcut \[ ... \] for unnumbered
displaymath.

What is basically missing from Taco's module is 18--20 (and of
course, they are the one I use most!).

I think that the only thing that needs to be done in ConTeXt core
is the math accent stuff. Everything else should be fine as it is
in Taco's module, except maybe for some font stuff which should be
adapted to the new ConTeXt internals. But this is for sure
something *I* am not able to do (would need to study ConTeXt font
internals thoroughly, and this is not the right moment).

--
Giuseppe "Oblomov" Bilotta