Presenting Mathematical Concepts on the World Wide Web
Think Visually: Screen vs. Page Design

Here are some more things (although this list is by no means exhaustive) that you may want to consider as you try to make comparisons of and decisions among various electronic means of communicating your mathematical ideas:

• ASCII / email
  • These have inherently awkward, limited mathematical notation or graphical design via multi-lines of fixed-width font.
  • Some notations based on ASCII (e.g., TeX) are mailable and somewhat readable by mere humans; others (e.g., BinHex or Zip) are mailable but involve machine-conversion at each end before humans can send or read them.
  • They do represent very easy and relatively reliable exchange mechanisms, especially for collaboration.

• RTF / TeX
  • These formats are intended for conversion to print, with all of its advantages and weaknesses.
  • They are not intended for communication in their own right (i.e., they can be but were not meant to be read as-is).
  • They have varying degrees of portability.

• Professional Tools with Annotation Capabilities
  • Computer algebra systems like Maple and Mathematica, for example, are particularly noted for this feature, although other tools now also offer you the ability to make notes in the notebook / session / worksheet abut what you have done or what the reader should do.
  • Even if this feature is not built in to the tool, information can be provided in a separate document, in print or online or...
  • This offers an excellent way to examine results obtained online, as long as the intended audience has access to the appropriate tools on the appropriate platforms.

• Specialized Programs
  • Can you use existing programs, or must (can) you write your own?
  • Will the program be stand-alone, or will (can) you use an applet or plug-in?
  • Does your intended audience include professionals, who know the basics and are using the software to supplement their knowledge; or, students or members of the general public, who must learn to use the software in order to learn the content too?

• Web-based presentations
  • The Web has excellent potential for communication, although not everyone is "wired" yet.
  • The Web generally provides excellent portability, though you must watch out for browser-specific issues.
  • There are extra issues with specialized notation, such as 2-dimensional math notation and special symbols, used by a relatively small market. We will, of course, return repeatedly to this particular topic throughout the workshop, but here are a few of the relevant issues:
    • Browser manufacturers do not see it as commercially necessary to provide those features themselves. They will provide a mechanism for others, who are interested in them, to hook their tools into the browser.
    • Math software producers have commercial concerns about interfacing their proprietary structures with public tools.
    • The non-commercial mathematics community is split along many issues, including but not limited to the complexity of authoring, the flexibility required of readers, the importance of print versus screen display, and more.