Re: embedded components and equations

[Federico Mena Quintero <federico helixcode com>]

Paul Topping <PaulT@mathtype.com> writes:

> I've browsed the GNOME site and equation editing within documents is
> mentioned a few times in connection with component development but I
> couldn't find evidence of anyone doing anything about it specifically. If I
> missed it, someone please point me in the right direction. Also, if my
> subject should be posted to a different list, let me know.

A few people have started writing such beasts, but to my knowledge
none of them has been finished.  I guess having an embeddable
component for equations is just not very interesting until you have a
component-aware word processor.

> It seems to me that the problems with creating an equation editor component
> are in the richness (or lack thereof) of the interface between it and the
> document that contains it. The simple model is one where the document asks
> the equation component "how big are you?" and the component replies with a
> width and height in a suitable coordinate system. The document editor use
> this info as input to the page layout process and, eventually, decides where
> the equation component should be put. Later, the document editor will ask
> the component to display itself within its rectangle using a canvas given to
> it.
> 
> To make a practical equation editor component takes a much richer interface
> than this. Before I expand on this at greater length, I want to be sure I'm
> saying it in the right place, it hasn't already been dealt with, and it is
> generally welcome. If any of these is missing, I'll slink off and never be
> heard from again.

Hey, your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Indeed to put inline equations in text you need the current font size,
baseline position information, distance from the margin, blah blah
blah.

You also need richer information than what Bonobo provides now if you
want to do stuff like typeset music, wrapping whole bar lines over to
a new staff or stave system if necessary, and all that (tr)icky stuff.

What sort of interface do you need from the container if you want to
do a typographically correct equation component?

  Federico