Introduction

Thank you for your interest in MathEX!

The following paragraphs include responses to frequently asked questions regarding MathEX. For support with issues not covered by the following information, please send mail to:

What operating systems are supported?

MathEX is available in a standalone Java application edition, and as a Java applet component edition, for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems.

What browsers are supported?

MathEX is designed to work with any browser that supports the Java Plugin, either versions 1.4 or 1.5. Such browsers include Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 6 and above, Mozilla 1.4 and above, Firefox 1.0, and Safari 1.2 and above.

The MathML Equation Editor is designed to operate as an ActiveX control within Microsoft Internet Explorer or other ActiveX control containers.

What special characters are supported?

MathEX supports authoring and publishing documents written in MathML.

The MathML markup language provides support for special characters within its markup definition. For example, please see the documentation for Unicode character entities in MathML for additional details on how to produce special character entities using MathEX.

Why are there two versions of MathEX?

The MathML Equation Editor was originally implemented in C++, and released as stand-alone Windows application and as an ActiveX control component. The use of ActiveX technologies, including the techexplorer Hypermedia Browser ActiveX control, for both the MathML rendering and editing support restricts this product to the Windows platform.

The MathEX Equation Editor for Java represents a complete port of the MathML rendering support found in the techexplorer Hypermedia Browser, and of the MathML editing support found in the MathML Equation Editor. The use of Java technologies for both the MathML rendering and editing support allows MathEX to support Windows, Linux, and Macintosh operating systems, either as a stand-alone Java application, or as a Java applet in any JDK 1.4 compatible browser.

Does MathEX support JDK 1.3?

MathEX is implemented using JDK 1.4, and relies on a number of features that are included in the Java 2 Platform libraries as of JDK 1.4.2:

• LiveConnect (netscape.javascript)
• JAXP 1.2 (javax.xml.parsers)
• DOM Level 2 (org.w3c.dom)
• SAX Level 2 (org.xml.sax)

However, the source code for MathEX may be compiled using JDK 1.3 or later. Please contact Integre if you have a requirement for using JDK 1.3 in your project and would like a version of the Equation Editor that can be executed in a JDK 1.3 runtime environment.

The principal features of MathEX that may vary when using JDK 1.3 involve the improved focus subsystem included in JDK 1.4, and variations in the platform-look-and-feel provided by the various versions of the Java platform.

Does MathEX support JDK 1.4?

MathEX is implemented using JDK 1.4.2, and the class files provided in the editor jar file may be loaded and executed using any JDK 1.4.0 or later runtime environment.

Since MathEX is provided as an unsigned applet, some versions of JDK 1.4.1 may encounter known issues in the Java Platform, including permissions for native XML parsing support, and JavaScript access for dynamically-created applets. If you encounter these issues, the editor will let you know that you may want to upgrade to a newer version of the JDK.

Does MathEX support JDK 1.5?

MathEX is implemented using JDK 1.4.2, and the class files provided in the editor jar file may be loaded and executed using any JDK 1.4.0 or later runtime environment, including JDK 1.5.0.

Why am I being asked to modify my Java policy file?

Certain update releases of JDK 1.4.1 exhibit a known issue in initializing the Crimson parser that is included in the Java Platform. This known issue involves two system properties that are read by the Crimson parser during its initialization. Since unsigned applets are prevented by default from reading these system properties, Crimson generates a SecurityException that it fails to catch. This known issue prevents MathEX from parsing XML data in these releases of JDK 1.4.1.

One workaround for this issue is to add the following lines to your Java Policy file. This file is typically named .java.policy and can be found in your home directory:

permission java.util.PropertyPermission "entityExpansionLimit", "read";
permission java.util.PropertyPermission "disallowDoctypeDecl", "read";

Since the issue has been addressed in JDK 1.4.2, upgrading the JDK will also allow you to view the page that produced this message.

Why am I being asked to upgrade to JDK 1.4.2?

Certain update releases of JDK 1.4.1 exhibit a known issue in initializing Java applets that were created by JavaScript code inserting a new applet in an already loaded HTML page. This known issue prevents MathEX from accessing information from the applet context that it needs to run.

Since the issue has been addressed in JDK 1.4.2, upgrading the JDK will allow you to view the page that produced this message.

How can I verify that the installation file has downloaded sucessfully?

There are at least two ways to verify that the installation file has downloaded sucessfully. First, you can check that the size of the file you have received matches the size of the original file you are trying to download.

Second, if you have access to a program like 'md5sum' that computes a checksum for a file, you can compare the checksum on the file you have received against the checksum on the original file you are trying to download.

Here are the file size and MD5 checksum for the MathEX installation file:

You can use these numbers to verify that the installation file has been downloaded successfully.