This specification defines the Mathematical Markup Language, or
MathML. MathML is a markup language
for describing mathematical notation and capturing
both its structure and content. The goal of MathML is to enable
mathematics to be served, received, and processed on the World Wide
Web, just as [HTML] has
enabled this functionality for text.
This specification of the markup language MathML is intended
primarily for a readership consisting of those who will be
developing or implementing renderers or editors using it, or
software that will communicate using MathML as a protocol for input
or output. It is not a User's Guide but rather a
reference document.
MathML can be used to encode both mathematical notation and
mathematical content. About thirty-eight of the MathML tags describe
abstract notational structures, while another about one hundred and
seventy provide a way of unambiguously specifying the intended
meaning of an expression. Additional chapters discuss how the MathML
content and presentation elements interact, and how MathML renderers
might be implemented and should interact with browsers. Finally,
this document addresses the issue of special characters used for
mathematics, their handling in MathML, their presence in Unicode,
and their relation to fonts.
While MathML is human-readable, authors typically will
use equation editors, conversion
programs, and other specialized software tools to generate
MathML. Several versions of such MathML tools exist,
both freely available software and commercial
products, and more are under development.
MathML was originally specified as an XML application and most of the
examples in this specification assume that syntax. Other syntaxes are possible, most
notably
[HTML] specifies the syntax for MathML in HTML. Unless explicitly noted,
the examples in this specification are also valid HTML syntax.
Status of This Document
This section describes the status of this
document at the time of its publication. A list of current W3C
publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found
in the
W3C standards and drafts index.
A fuller discussion of the document's evolution can be found in
I. Changes.
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This document was published by the Math Working Group as
an Editor's Draft.
Publication as
an Editor's Draft does not imply endorsement
by W3C and its Members.
This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other
documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other
than a work in progress.
This document was produced by a group
operating under the
W3C Patent
Policy.
W3C maintains a
public list of any patent disclosures
made in connection with the deliverables of
the group; that page also includes
instructions for disclosing a patent. An individual who has actual
knowledge of a patent that the individual believes contains
Essential Claim(s)
must disclose the information in accordance with
section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy.