Study On A Conversion Method From MathML To SVG

There is a mount of data to be stored in the area of science research, much of these data describe with math formula. W3C defines a standard Mathematical Markup Language, for the description of the mathematical formula . MathML which is a tree-structured data structure facilitates search engines to do full-text retrieval.Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a XML-based graphics standard recommended by W3C for Web graphics. It is a language for describing two-dimensional vector graphics and vector lattice mixed graphics. Since SVG is XML-based, it is independent of platform and has good expansibility. It makes up the shortage of former network graphic format and satisfies the requirements of alternate control.Taking into account the broad support for SVG format, converting MathML format to SVG format has its practical significance. The research of conversion model is the key of the conversion process .Accroding to MathML norms, elements in the MathML will be converted to the corresponding elements in SVG . Since MathML does not contain layout information, while SVG need layout coordinates , the conversion process using a tree structure to achieve layout algorithm.The information of font can be achieved by reading the relevant font file. The layout algorithm uses a rectangular block to describe space which a element takes. When we guarantee that there are no overlapping among those rectangulars,the drawing of mathematical symbols will have a lot of flexibility.A prototype system is realized on J2SE platform based on the above conversion model .The system architecture and main modules of the class structure are also proposed. The system not only provides a flexible Java API calls, but also can be expanded easily because it uses a large number of design patterns. But CSS style handling and MathML semantic element type conversion still not perfect,pending further study and improvement.