1. Spilled the Beans
Join Date
Jun 2007
Location
Bergen, Norway
Beans
14
Distro
Xubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

Re: Math Type for Linux? Try firefox with applet DragMath

I am sorry, this is a third entry today. I remembered one more
nice software piece:

http://www.dragmath.bham.ac.uk/
where you get MathType functionality inside any web browser with java.
DragMath requires Java 1.4.2 or later

2. Re: Math Type for Linux? Reply to Vivaldi Gloria in #10

I don't want to hijack this thread but with apologies to OP I have to answer lad.kocb.

When D. Knuth started TEX, there even was not much GUI around.
And practice has shown that LaTeX is still better than all gui editors.

You are right, the simple math can easily be entered straight into the text, but try entering a continuous fraction with terms containing fractions and braces etc.
Are you kiddin me? Of course it is easier with LaTeX.

Pal, you need to read more about logical vs. visual design. Visual design may be OK for a short paper. But it is no good for complex documents.

You should read sections 1.4-1.5 in Lamport's book - LaTeX, A Document Preparation system. There he compares the two approaches and gives an example (about the inner product) which shows it's much efficient to use LaTeX.

Suppose I wrote a paper in LaTeX and sent it to the journal A using their style file. Now A rejected the paper and I want to send it to the journal B. But B uses a completely different syle & layout. What am I to do? Simple, I download their style file and use it. I don't have to change anything in the document. The whole document gets typeset automatically to the new style!!

And that is the main point of LaTeX - you don't bother with the page format and appearance of the document which makes you loose time, makes the document rigid, and afterall humans are not very good at it. LaTeX takes care of all visual design of the document so you just type the content, and believe me, typing is much faster than typing plus visual design. Get a complex document with a lot of formulas and have it typed by two people - a Word wizard and a LaTeX wizard. The LaTeX guy will write it in a fraction of the time it takes the word guy to write it.

How many times did you strugle with word when it puts an item in an odd place, or it starts numbering things which are not supposed to be numbered, and so on. I go mad even if I try to write a two page document with word. Writing a 100 page scientific document with word? - Better kill me so the pain & suffering ends.

And I stress the fact that humans (and Word) are not good at designing complex documents. The primary strength of LaTeX is its typesetting quality. I can always tell which hw is written using LaTeX and which is not. The ones written with LaTeX look great and the others look like sh*t.

http://nitens.org/taraborelli/latex

http://www.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html

http://www.andy-roberts.net/misc/latex/latexvsword.html

3. Spilled the Beans
Join Date
Jun 2007
Location
Bergen, Norway
Beans
14
Distro
Xubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

Re: Math Type for Linux? Answer to Vivaldi Gloria (part II)

Neither I want to monopolize this thread, but the last entry
by Vivaldi Gloria calls for a little comment. Yes, I completely
agree with you! Except of your language in the last sentence
I could have written exactly what you have written.
I was not talking about Word or any other word processor.
I was talking exclusively about TeX/LaTeX.
Even the "Scientific Word" is latex based, it has nothing to do
with "the other" Word from Redmond.

I was simply saying that when you are going to design a
complicated structure in TEX, it might be helpful to use
a graphical tool. I also said that I have been using latex for
nearly 20 years (and I hope to do it for the rest of my
scientific carrier - which unfortunately is much less
than 20 years).

I have no doubts that latex is THE best way now available
(and in foreseeable future) to work with mathematical texts.
All computer algebra systems I know about export latex, preprint
archives are based on latex, most physics journals I know accept
latex submissions, etc. Just to finish, I am afraid that the
younger generation is getting sometimes too microsoftized, as
well as some "less theoretical" fields of science, who are
unfortunately falling deeper and deeper in Microsoft web of
tricks and lies.

So dear Vivaldi Gloria, continue your fight! Good luck! But

4. Re: Math Type for Linux?

I am not fighting or carrying around "ammunition" but I guess I got carried away there a bit. Well, nice that we agree. Sorry if I sounded harsh.

5. First Cup of Ubuntu
Join Date
Dec 2007
Beans
7

Re: Math Type for Linux?

I agree with lad.kocb. Latex is nice in formatting maths, not typing maths. A few examples shows that: a fraction takes "\frac{}{}" 9 key strokes to complete in latex, but just "^C F" 3 key strokes to complete in Mathtype. A large bracelet takes "\left( \right)" 13 key strokes to complete in latex, but "^C (" 3 key strokes to complete in Mathtype. Typing a matrix reads as "\begin{array}...\end{array}" in latex. And "^M 3" gives you a 3x3 matrix in mathtype.
Therefore, if you work as a teaching assistant and have tons of equations to type for the class everyday, type all latex code by hand is definitely going to kill you.

Now, speaking of workaround. At first I thought there is a workaround in latex: define Macros. But after defining macros on macros on macros, the readability of latex code degrades a lot. Especially when you are working with some one else(coauthor a paper, working with an instructor), don't expect everyone to understand your macros.

For the questions in this thread, I would recommend to install vmware , run mathtype on it, and connect to it via rdesktop. It's far more reliable than wine. You don't have any of the fonts isuses.

6. Re: Math Type for Linux?

You can use texmacs http://texmacs.org
Simple and proffessional

7. Re: Math Type for Linux?

Originally Posted by hx129
I agree with lad.kocb. Latex is nice in formatting maths, not typing maths. A few examples shows that: a fraction takes "\frac{}{}" 9 key strokes to complete in latex, but just "^C F" 3 key strokes to complete in Mathtype. A large bracelet takes "\left( \right)" 13 key strokes to complete in latex, but "^C (" 3 key strokes to complete in Mathtype. Typing a matrix reads as "\begin{array}...\end{array}" in latex. And "^M 3" gives you a 3x3 matrix in mathtype.
Therefore, if you work as a teaching assistant and have tons of equations to type for the class everyday, type all latex code by hand is definitely going to kill you.
Good. You go in to matrix mode 2 seconds faster in mathtype. But you'll loose that 2 seconds when you are actually making that matrix. Do we have to go over this again? Take any technical book and have it written by a latex guru and mathtype guru. Latex guru will finish it much faster.

What part of this do you not understand? People can type much faster than they compose formulas by hand!

Let me repeat it for you:

People can type much faster than they compose formulas by hand!

You don't know what you are talking about.

Latex is THE choice for technical documents all around the world for a reason. The first of them being that it's a lot faster. This is not the only reason. Read my above post to grasp some of the other reasons.

Originally Posted by hx129
Now, speaking of workaround. At first I thought there is a workaround in latex: define Macros. But after defining macros on macros on macros, the readability of latex code degrades a lot. Especially when you are working with some one else(coauthor a paper, working with an instructor), don't expect everyone to understand your macros.
There is no need for a workaround because latex is FASTER! Gee.

If you want to use macros in latex then use descriptive names and you'll remember them. Also put them in a separate file if there are a lot of them, else put them in the preamble.

Originally Posted by hx129
For the questions in this thread, I would recommend to install vmware , run mathtype on it, and connect to it via rdesktop. It's far more reliable than wine. You don't have any of the fonts isuses.
Yes, the OP has a valid reason not to use latex, so this may be a valid suggestion. But I suggest wine if mathtype works with it. Wine is close to native, requires less resources, it's foss, and you don't need to buy windows to use programs with it.

8. 5 Cups of Ubuntu
Join Date
Sep 2011
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24

Re: Math Type for Linux?

Anyone know if there is mathtype like math editor for linux that allows to handwrite equations with mouse and convert those into images or text?

9. Re: Math Type for Linux?

Originally Posted by tehwizardd
Anyone know if there is mathtype like math editor for linux that allows to handwrite equations with mouse and convert those into images or text?
A lot can change in four years.

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