• should allow multiple outputs, e.g., PDF, HTML.

• should admit translation to other author-level formats.

• should be writable with LaTeX-like markup.

• Flexibility for current use.

• Durability for future use.

\documenttype{article}

\surtitle{The Importance of Good Source}

\title{A Minimal Document with Math}

\begin{document}

 

\latex is very hard to translate.

 

Good source markup

\begin{enumerate}

\item can be translated.

\item is no harder to write than \latex.

\end{enumerate}

 

The numbers $\pi$, $i = \sqrt{-1}$, and $e = \func{exp}(1)$ are

related by the equation

\[ e^{i\pi} = -1 \ . \]

\end{document}

An example of Generalized LaTeX.

Generalized LaTeX is LaTeX-like markup that is formally equivalent to a document instance under an SGML document type.

• PDF

• HTML

• equivalent SGML

• derived author-level XML

• author-level XML rendered via CSS

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \left\{\mathrm{All\; Markup\; Languages}\right\}\hfill \\ \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \cup \hfill \\ \hfill \mathrm{HTML}& \hfill \in \hfill & \hfill \left\{\mathrm{SGML\; Document\; Types}\right\}\hfill \\ \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \cup \hfill \\ \hfill \mathrm{XHTML}& \hfill \in \hfill & \hfill \left\{\mathrm{XML\; Document\; Types}\right\}\hfill \end{array}$$

Objects are markup languages

Morphisms are translations

• LaTeX is a reasonable translation target (for author-level markup languages).

• LaTeX is a poor domain for translation to languages other than printer languages.

Author-level SGML and XML document types are good domains for translation.

• The language of the GNU Documentation System.

• A good domain for translation.

• Essentially equivalent to an author-level XML document type — an historical accident

• No provision for author-level math.

• Equivalent to an author-level XML document type.

• A good domain for translation.

• Author-level math markup.

• LaTeX-like source.

• Source

• HTML

• PDF

• equivalent SGML

• derived author-level XML

• author-level XML rendered via CSS

• A dialect of LaTeX with a fixed command vocabulary where all macro expansions must be effective in that vocabulary.

• A language essentially equivalent to an SGML document type.

The XHTML + MathML version of these slides uses W3C's Slidy by Dave Raggett, a JavaScript/CSS package for sizing and flow control of an HTML or XHTML slide show.

(The slides were generated in a non-standard fashion from GELLMU source.)