Samples

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Beauty

MathTran uses TeX for its typesetting. TeX is the best program there is for mathematical typography. TeX understands mathematical typography, and usually get the right characters at the right sizes in the right locations. It's rare for TeX to make the various parts of a mathematics formula collide, no matter how complicated the formula.

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Baselines

Every character in a font has a baseline. Some letters, like lowercase 'g', have a descender which crosses the baseline. Imagine how ugly text would look if we didn't line the characters up using their baselines.

Mathematics in paragraph text also has a baseline. MathTran takes care to line up its formulae on the baseline. For example, look at Euler's solution tex:\sum_1^\infty 1/n^2 = \pi^2/6 to the Basel problem.

Here another example tex:\int_0^1 x^2\, dx = 1/3 of how MathTran has lined up the formula using its baseline. Not doing this would make the page harder to read, and it would also be ugly.


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Text and Displays

In paragraph text, the goal is to avoid tall formulas that force the lines apart. In displays, the goal is to fit the entire formula onto a single display line, if possible. TeX understands this, and typesets a formula differently when in display style. For example, here is an earlier formula in display style tex:\displaystyle\sum_1^\infty \frac{1}{n^2} = \frac{\pi^2}{6}. Notice have the lines have been forced apart, and that 'tex:=' is placed using its baseline. To specify that an equation should be typeset using display style you should include the '\displaystyle' directive immediately after the opening <tex> tag.

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