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Re: docbook vs latex


Doug du Boulay wrote:

> Wouldnt it be possible to put in an RFE to try and
> get mathelement, maththeorem etc into DocBook?

Why adding mathelement when there is equation and inlineequation
already? 

> I imagine its the lack of support for/demand by mathematics users that has
> allowed DocBook to progress so far without such elements.

But DocBook is primary focused on software documentation. If we add
something very special for mathematics (like maththeorem), we should
also add something for other groups of users (historicans, doctors, ...)
-- this will end up in very complex DTD with thousands instead of
hundreds elements. 

If mathematicals want, they can create ustomization layer adding
maththeorem and other elements. Maybe using something like <formalpara
role="maththeorem"> can be also sufficient.

> Adding them may help to broaden the user base, save you
> having to hack the dtd, and also permit interchange between
> dbtexmath and db2latex rendering methods.

As DocBook is SGML/XML based formar, using LaTeX markup for equations is
wrong from design perspective. You should use XML based format like
MathML and there is already module which allows usage of MathML inside
equation and inlineequation elements. Yes, tools are not always mature
enough, but from long time perspective MathML is way to go. Meanwhile
you can use "hacks" like dbtexmath.

				Jirka

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
  Jirka Kosek  	                     
  e-mail: jirka@kosek.cz
  http://www.kosek.cz


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