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<head>
<meta name="keywords" content="equations, math">
<meta name="description" content="Summary of options for putting
mathematical equations on web pages; examples using tools on Athena.">
<meta name="author" content="Abby Fox">
<link rev="made" href="mailto:ajfox@@mit.edu">
<title>ACS Notes: Displaying Math on the Web -- Comparison of Approaches</title>
</head>

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<center><IMG SRC="topline3.gif" ALT="MIT - Academic Computing" WIDTH=640
HEIGHT= 50></center>

<h1 align=center>Displaying Math on the Web -- Comparison of
Approaches</h1>

<center><img src="handy_eqn.gif" width=250 height=100 alt="hand-drawn equation: the integral from zero to infinity
of e to the (minus x squared) dx equals (the square root of pi) over 2"></center>


<hr>
<!-- **** Begin Navigation Bar **** -->
<center>
<a href="contents.html">Displaying Math on the Web</a>:
<a href="samples_and_tools.html">Samples and Tools</a>
| <strong>Camparison of Approaches</strong>
| <a href="further_info.html">Further Information</a> 
</center>
<!-- **** End Navigation Bar **** -->

<hr>
<h2>Contents</h2>

<ul>
  <li> <a href="#consider">General considerations</a>
  <li> <a href="#browser">Methods using browser display</a>
     <ul>
	   <li> <a href="#latex2html">latex2html</a> 
	   <li> <a href="#tth">TtH</a> 
	   <li> <a href="#webeq">WebEQ</a> 
     </ul>
  <li> <a href="#pagedisplay">Methods using graphical page display</a>
     <ul>       
  	   <li> <a href="#tex">TeX/LaTeX orDVI</a>
  	   <li> <a href="#ps">PostScript</a> 		
  	   <li> <a href="#pdf">PDF</a>
  	   <li> <a href="#images">Full-page images</a>
  	 </ul>
</ul>

<hr>

<h3><a name="consider">General considerations</a></h3>

As with any web publishing, there are some general things to consider
on behalf of the audience:

<ul>
   <li>Presentation quality
   <li>Time to load
   <li>Printing issues
   <li>Platform independence
   <li>User configuration/installation requirements
   <li>Accessibility to the visually impaired (<a
	href="further_info.html#access">Further Information</a>) 
</ul>

There are additional considerations from the maintainer's point of view:

<ul>
  <li>Individual file size impacts both the download time for the user
       and the amount of disk space required to house the web site;
       number of files impacts site maintenance.
  <li>File formats may also be a maintenance issue (in particular, if
       the original is converted to another format, consider what would
       be involved in making future changes).
  <li>Different tools are suited to different authoring styles
       (experimentation is often the best way to determine what will
       work for you).
       
</ul>       

<p>The comparisons below do not aim to provide complete information on
each of these categories, but rather to indicate some of the basic
differences between current options for math display.  The various
methods are grouped into two presentation types: browser display and
graphical page display.

<hr>

<h3><a name="browser">Methods using browser display</a></h3>

In this approach, the basis of the document is HTML and equations are
either displayed with embedded images or Java applets, or are rendered
natively as text.  The general advantage here is that the reader needs
only a graphical web browser to see the equations; that is, this
approach is platform-independent and imposes no additional user
installation requirements (in the case of TtH, some user configuration
may be necessary to get the browser to display symbol fonts).  Other
considerations vary with each tool and are detailed below.

<h4><a name="latex2html">latex2html</a></h4>

<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th>
<td>latex2html is a latex-to-html converter which usually generates GIF
images of equations. </td> 
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>Equation images are consistent with the original (i.e., individual equations
look like what you'd see in the dvi or ps file, though the overall document
layout may differ).  If the web document is printed, it will include the
equation images.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>Equation images are generally low resolution and there may be some 
problems with their alignment and sizing.  Since each equation is a separate
GIF file, complicated documents consist of numerous files; this has
implications both for download time and site maintenance.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Options</th> 
<td>Various options may be used to improve equation appearance or to
create alternate representations of equations instead of images (see the <a
href="http://www-dsed.llnl.gov/files/programs/unix/latex2html/manual/Enode5.html">Mathematics
section of the latex2html manual</a> and the supplement <a
href="http://www.maths.mq.edu.au/texdev/LaTeX2HTML/maths/mathdocs/">Mathematics with latex2html</a>).</td>

</tr>
</table>

<p>

<h4><a name="tth">TtH</a></h4>

<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th>
<td>TtH is a tex/latex-to-html converter which aims for full translation
into HTML rather than aesthetic rendering of equations.  It uses symbol
fonts available through browser-supported tags for mathematical objects,
along with tables for equation layout.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>Equations are presented in native HTML; hence pages load quickly
and there are no extra image files to manage.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>User configuration may be required to get the browser to display
symbol fonts properly; there may be issues with less common browsers
and older browser versions.  If the document is printed, equations may
not be readable (due to differences between fonts the browser can display
and those that it can print).</td>
</tr>

</table>


<h4><a name="webeq">WebEQ</a></h4>
<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th>
<td>WebEQ can be used to generate either images of equations or
equation-rendering Java applets with a WYSIWYG math palette or
latex-like command syntax; the rest of the document is written in HTML
(either by hand or with another authoring tool).</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>
<li>General: WebEQ supports MathML, which future browsers may be 
able to render directly; by retaining WebEQ's MathML output in current
documents, authors may well be able to port them to the next generation
of browsers with minimal modifications.
<li>Using images: generally the same as latex2html (above).
<li>Using applets: WebEQ applets provide some interactive features 
   (e.g., hyperlinking, roll-overs and mouse actions; on a more basic
   level, users can control font size). 
</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>
<li>Using images: generally the same as latex2html (above).
<li>Using applets: loading time is a definite issue, particularly if access
is over a slow modem.  If the document is printed, applet-rendered
equations will not appear.</td>
</tr>

</table>

<hr>
     
<h3><a name="pagedisplay">Methods using graphical page display</a></h3>

In this approach, full-page images of the document are either
rendered by a viewer or plug-in from files in page-description languages
(TeX/DVI/PS or PDF), or are displayed directly in the browser (e.g.,
images scanned from paper originals).  The general advantage here is
that the visual layout of the original is preserved.

<h4><a name="tex">TeX/LaTeX or DVI</a></h4>

<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th> 
<td>Those who write TeX/LaTeX customarily link directly to their source
     files on web pages as a method of distribution, as their colleagues
     are generally accustomed to dealing with these formats.
     </td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>Small file sizes, no additional processing for the author.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>Mac and PC users generally do not have the tools to deal
     with TeX source files; those who are familiar with TeX will still
     generally have to download and convert the source files into
     viewable or printable format.  If the document depends on multiple
     files, this complicates the process for users.  Finally, files are
     static (no hyperlinking or other features common on the web).</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Options</th> 

     <td>IBM's <a href="http://www.software.ibm.com/network/techexplorer/">techexplorer Hypermedia Browser</a> is
a plug-in for Netscape and
     Internet Explorer which displays "basic" TeX and LaTeX, plus the
     AMS Symbol set; it is not currently available for the Mac.</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4><a name="ps">PostScript</a></h4>

<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th> 
<td>Simply link the PS file to a web page.  Commonly used by those who
     write TeX/LaTeX to make documents available "as is" in final,
     printable form.</td> 
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>Minimal processing for the author, and a workable format for
electronic documnet exchange if the audience has access to PS
viewers and/or PS printers. </td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>PostScript files tend to be larger than other formats.   As with
TeX, Mac and PC users generally do not have the tools to deal with
PostScript files, and the files are static (no hyperlinking or other
features common on the web).</td> 
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Options</th> 
<td>While usually more problematic for users than Unix PS viewers, there are
GhostScript versions and related PS tools for
<a href="http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/mac/">Mac</a> and <a
href="http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost">PC</a>.
</td>
</tr>
</table>

     

<h4><a name="pdf">PDF</a></h4> 

<p>

<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th> 
<td>PDF is a format specifically designed for electronic document
exchange, and is commonly used on the web to make documents available
cross-platform with original formatting intact and in printable form.</td>
</tr>     
     
<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>Most users will already have their browsers set up to view PDF
files and be familiar with the viewer.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>Some care needs to be taken during the PDF creation process to
ensure presentation quality, keep file sizes reasonably small, and 
avoid printing problems. </td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Options</th> 
<td>See the ACS <a href="http://web.mit.edu/acs/www/faq/pdf.html">PDF FAQ</a> for more information.</td>
</tr>
</table>


<h4><a name="images">Full-page images</a></h4> 

<p>

<table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2>

<tr>
<th>Approach</th> 
<td>One can scan paper originals and post the full-page images directly
on a web site.</td>
</tr>     
     
<tr>
<th>Benefits</th> 
<td>This is probably most useful if one has true paper originals (e.g.
     old or hand-drawn documents which aren't easily reproduced using
     electronic authoring tools).</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<th>Issues</th> 
<td>File size can be an issue (download time and disk space).</td>
</tr>

</table>     

<hr>
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<a href="contents.html">Displaying Math on the Web</a>:
<a href="samples_and_tools.html">Samples and Tools</a>
| <strong>Camparison of Approaches</strong>
| <a href="further_info.html">Further Information</a> 
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