equation without title (status question and issues)

[kai brommann <kai_brommann@yahoo.com>]

hi,

using the docbook element equation without title
(together with other equations with title in the same
document of course) (4.4 XML DTD, latest
docbook-xsl-snapshot stylesheets, XHTML output) I am
facing the following situation:

see: 
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/docbook-apps/200511/msg00125.html

for a start

then:
http://www.oasis-open.org/archives/docbook-apps/200602/msg00118.html
'I believe that's the intended semantic of equation
without a title.
But the stylesheets might not yet have caught up with
that understanding.'
(date 19.2.2006)

and finally
http://www.docbook.org/tdg/en/html/equation.html

'Processing systems that number equations or build a
table of equations at the beginning of a document may
have difficulty correctly formatting documents that
contain both Equations with Titles and Equations
without Titles. You are advised to use
InformalEquation for equations without titles.
In some future version of DocBook, probably V5.0, even
though the change has not yet been announced, the
Title on Equation will be required.'

(in this document this has not been the state half a
year ago I can swear)

well, in general I can fully accept the decision to
move away from equation without title towards
informalequation (then DBLaTeX must be changed again
accordingly, no problem).
But then there a numbering should be an option (some
equations can be completely informal, and some have
also no title but a nmuber). But at the moment in 5.0
this is not planned?!

-------------------

so I understand we are in the middle of a something in
this regard, but now here I nevertheless mention the
issues I encountered using equation without title and
XHTML output:

1)
as is folklore: they appeaer in the list of equations
as empty lines

2)
on the same line as equation contents now there
appears s.th. like:

x + y = z  Equation 11.2.
 
I want this 'Equation' to disappear, instead I need
simply (11.2)

pay attention to the fact that I have other equations
with title in the same document, so the workaround 
<l:context name="title">
 <l:template name="equation" text="(%n)"/>
</l:context>
would break them. A possible solution would make this
text a configure option (I want empty, some want
'Equ.). It is important to make it distinguishable
from other equations with title, since they may get
the same number, see the item 3) below! And yes, this
collision may happen frequently in mathematical books,
it is common usage.

3)
the equations without title would need a separate
counter, at the moment they start from the counter of
the equations with title, and then they don't
increment (I have three subsequent equations without
title, they all get the same number).

4)
when linking to an equation without title (by xref),
again the (empty) title is tried to be displayed,
like:

(Equation 11.2, “”)

well, this should be repaired in a hardcoded fashion,
it is similar to problem 1). And again when linking I
want the text be configurable, like described in 2)
(in fact of course it should be the same text object).
When the text is empty, I can live with an unnecessary
space used since the text could have been non-empty...

---------------

so what will the future bring? will the issues be
fixed, and besides the transition to informalequation
will be overthought, or when will (probably in
DocBook5.0) the informalequation get an (optional)
numbering?


thanx for your patience:-)
kbr

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