XHTML+MathML Web Page Types

SnuggleTeX supports a number of pre-defined “Web Page Types” that you can select in order to generate MathML-based web pages that work across a number of different browsers and platforms.

These types are defined in the WebPageOutputOptions.WebPageType enumeration and you simply pass one of these enumerated values to the WebPageOutputOptionsTemplates.createWebPageOptions() utility method to create a working WebPageOutputOptions Object that you can tweak or use immediately.

(You might also want to look at the MathML Browser Requirements page, which looks at these ideas from a slightly different perspective.)

Pre-defined WebPageTypes

  • MOZILLA (Example )

    This generates an XHTML + MathML document suitable for Mozilla-based browsers (e.g. Firefox). It is served as application/xhtml+html, with no XML declaration and no DOCTYPE declaration. Do not use this if you are targeting Internet Explorer as it will display your page as an XML tree.

  • CROSS_BROWSER_XHTML (Example )

    This generates an XHTML + MathML document that displays well on both Mozilla-based browsers and Internet Explorer 6 and above (providing that the MathPlayer plug-in has already been installed). It is served as application/xhtml+html, has an XML declaration and a DOCTYPE declaration.
    • This will not display correctly on Internet Explorer if MathPlayer has not already been installed on it by your target user.
    • Internet Explorer will download the DTD, which will slow rendering down somewhat.

  • MATHPLAYER_HTML (Example)

    This generates an HTML document that displays well on Internet Explorer 6 and above with the MathPlayer plugin already installed. It will not display MathML correctly on Mozilla-based browsers.

  • UNIVERSAL_STYLESHEET (Example )

    This generates an XHTML + MathML document that is served as XML and can be served to both Mozilla-based browsers and Internet Explorer 6+. It includes an XML processing instruction that tells browsers to apply the Universal MathML StyleSheet to the page before delivering, prompting IE users to download and install MathPlayer if they do not already have it.
    • IE requires that client-side XSLT stylesheets are loaded from the same server that the document came from, so you must copy the USS bundled with SnuggleTeX to your own server and tell SnuggleTeX where you put it by calling the setClientSideXSLTStylesheetURLs() method.
    • This can be a very good option for decent portability, though it does slow rendering down somewhat and may also increase the load on your server as some browsers will load static resources both before and after the XSLT is applied.

  • CLIENT_SIDE_XSLT_STYLESHEET

    This generates a XHTML + MathML document, served as application/xhtml+html with no XML declaration and no DOCTYPE declaration. It is intended to be used with a client-side XSLT of your choice. (This is a more advanced option!)

  • PROCESSED_HTML

    This is another advanced option that assumes it will generate a plain old HTML document, served as text/html. You will have to post-process the resulting DOM to produce something sensible here by registering a DOMPostProcessor with your WebPageOutputOptions. This may appear to be a rather esoteric option, but is actually what the SnuggleTeX JEuclid module uses when converting the results to legacy HTML + Images.