Le 08-sept.-08 à 11:37, Chris Rowley a écrit :
I think that you and David are suggesting fairly close criteria,
Cool. You as well?
perhaps just a difference of what is meant by 'interoperability'.
tremble tremble...
This also raises the question about what in a 'description' of the mathematical meaning, rather than of the syntax and computational semantics, affects interoperability.
Formal properties are subject of debate here I think. Thus far they're pushed to the appendix in MathML-3 spec but kept core in OpenMath3. James defines their usage well:
usage of a symbol (e.g. treatment by processors) should make the properties "stay true"
But overall you cannot do more than what the words allow you to do if you stick to a description only.
You wrote --As for the OpenMath CDs or MathML chapter 4 descriptions, I just feel they need to be minimal enough to be interoperable.That sounds like a good rule, but on looking a bit deeper we need to pin down questions such as: - interoperable with what systems? and/or what types of system?
MathML-content processors.
only exisiting systems? or plausible future systems (eg tutorial assistants)?
both.
for each system, what is interoperable and what is not?
non-interoperable would be something that renders the description or formal-properties false.
(sub-questions): - what makes a symbol alone (rather than an expression) interoperable?
a symbol is just a pointer.
- is it any more than (something like) its 'signature'?
precisely, it is more in the sense it should apply the rules set-forth in its content-dictionary:
- the description - the formal properties
how strongly, or simply, typed must it be?
completely open question to my taste... as long as no tool-set is offered to help this.
E.g. nothing can prevent you to take the arcsine of a matrix...Attempts at providing types exist but their implementation has been known to be quite difficult. Is this a critique to the feasibility of a BNF grammar as Robert wishes? Maybe.
paul
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