127 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
127 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
.. _output-formats:
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**********************
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MathJax Output Formats
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**********************
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Currently, MathJax can render math in two ways:
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- Using HTML-with-CSS to lay out the mathematics, or
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- Using a browser's native MathML support.
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These are implemented by the `HTML-CSS` and `NativeMML` output
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processors. You select which one you want to use by including either
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``"output/HTML-CSS"`` or ``"output/NativeMML"`` in the `jax` array of
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your MathJax configuration. For example
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.. code-block:: javascript
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jax: ["input/TeX","output/HTML-CSS"]
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would specify TeX input and HTML-with-CSS output for the mathematics
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in your document.
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The HTML-CSS output processor produces high-quality output in all
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major browsers, with results that are consistent across browsers and
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operating systems. This is MathJax's primary output mode. It's major
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advantage is its quality and consistency; it's drawback is that it is
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slower that the NativeMML mode at rendering the mathematics. (The
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HTML-CSS processor has not yet been optimized for speed, so you can
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expect some improvement in the future. Note that IE8 in "IE8
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standards mode" is an order of magnitude slower than any other browser
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when processing math through the HTML-CSS output processor; see
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:ref:`HTML-CSS with IE8 <html-css-with-ie8>` below for some strategies
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to deal with this.)
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The NativeMML output processor uses the browser's internal MathML support (if
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any) to render the mathematics. Currently, Firefox has native support
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for MathML, and IE has the `MathPlayer plugin
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<http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/>`_ for rendering
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MathML. Opera has some built-in support for MathML that works well
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with simple equations, but fails with more complex formulas, so we
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don't recommend using the NativeMML output processor with Opera. Safari,
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Chrome, Konqueror, and most other browsers don't support MathML
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natively.
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The advantage of the NativeMML output Processor is its speed, since
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native MathML support is much faster than using complicated HTML and
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CSS to lay out mathematics via an interpreted language like JavaScript
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(as the HTML-CSS output processor does). The disadvantage is that you
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are dependent on the browser's MathML implementation for your
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rendering, and these vary in quality of output and completeness of
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implementation. MathJax may rely on features that are not available
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in some renderers (for example, Firefox's MathML support does not
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implement some of the named widths, such as
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``negativethinmathspace``). The results using the NativeMML output
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processor may have spacing or other rendering problems that are
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outside of MathJax's control.
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Automatic Selection of the Output Processor
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===========================================
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Since not all browsers support MathML natively, it would be unwise to
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choose the NativeMML output processor unless you are sure of your
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audience's browser capabilities. MathJax can help with that, however,
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since there is a special configuration file that will choose between
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NativeMML and HTML-CSS depending on the browser in use. To invoke it,
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add ``"MMLorHTML.js"`` to your configurations `config` array, and **do
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not** include an output processor in your `jax` array; MathJax will
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fill that in for you based on the abilities of your user's browser.
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.. code-block:: javascript
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config: ["MMLorHTML.js"],
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jax: ["input/TeX"]
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You can customize which choice to make on a browser-by-browser basis
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or a global basis. See the ``config/MathJax.js`` file or the
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:ref:`Configuring MathJax <configuration>` section for futher
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details.
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MathJax produces MathML that models the underlying mathematics as best
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it can, rather than using complicated hacks to improve output for a
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particular MathML implementation. When you make the choice to use the
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NativeMML output processor, you are making a trade-off: gaining speed
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at the expense of quality and reliability, a decision that should not
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be taken lightly. Note, however, that a user can employ the MathJax
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contectual menu to select the other other renderer if he or she
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wishes.
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.. _html-css-with-ie8:
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HTML-CSS with IE8
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=================
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Internet Explorer 8 has at least eight different rendering modes in
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which can operate, and that are triggered by the `DOCTYPE` of the
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document being viewed. Its "quirks" mode is its fastest mode, and its
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"IE8 standards" mode is its slowest. This is the mode triggered by
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strict HTML document types, and since most modern content management
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systems now include a `DOCTYPE` that activates "standards" mode, IE8
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will operate in its slowest manner. This is particularly apparent
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when MathJax is used, since IE8 in standards mode runs 20 to 30 times
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slower than it does in its IE7 emulation mode, and 60 times slower
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than in quirks mode.
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Most users find this speed reduction unacceptable when there is much
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mathematics on the page. To overcome this problem, you may wish to
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tell IE8 to use its IE7 emulation mode rather than its IE8 standards
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mode. You can accomplish this by including the line
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.. code-block:: html
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<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7">
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at the top of the ``<head>`` section of your HTML documents. This
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lets you keep the strict `DOCTYPE` for validation purposes, while
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still managing to get reasonable perforance from Internet Explorer
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8. Note that this line must come at the beginning of the ``<head>``,
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before any stylesheets or other content are loaded.
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Altertnatively, you can use the `MMLorHTML` configuration file
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described above to select NativeMML output when possible, and request
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that your users install the `MathPlayer plugin
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<http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/>`_, which will render
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the mathematics much more quickly.
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