MathML to LaTeX conversion

Question

I'm trying to figure out how to convert a MathML representation of a math equation and convert it to the LaTeX representation of that math equation. So for example...

<math>
  <mrow>
    <mfrac>
      <mrow><mi>x</mi></mrow>
      <mrow><mi>y</mi></mrow>
    </mfrac>
  </mrow>
</math>

... is a simple stacked fraction and it's LaTeX representation would be...

\frac{x}{y}

I'm guaranteed that the MathML has no presentational markup because I am constructing the MathML string dynamically and I control how/where the MathML elements are inserted; the MathML string is just pure structure of the math equation.

So my question is, are there any Java/JavaScript libraries out there that can take a MathML input string, like the one above, and generate the corresponding LaTeX string? I would much rather not have to write this parser myself. If not Java/JavaScript, are any libraries at all that can do this?

If not, any suggestions on how to approach this problem of writing my own parser? Where to start, things to consider, resources, etc...?

UPDATE

Thanks to Optimal Cynic, I was able to use this Java library to do what I want. It is not perfect however, but I can easily modify it and make it work well. However, I would still like to see this done in JavaScript. So are there any tools like this written in JavaScript? If not, I'll resort to translating it myself.

Note: I am using MathJax to render the MathML on the page, but MathJax does not currently support a way to go from MathML to LaTeX. It can only go from LaTeX to MathML.

If you ever implement this in JavaScript, be sure to share a link to the implementation here. — Mikko Rantalainen, Apr 23 '13 at 07:34

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 05 '11 at 20:59

5

Try http://www.tilman.de/programme/mathparser/anleitung_en.html - it's written in Java and the source is available.

answered Jul 05 '11 at 20:59

Optimal Cynic

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This is cool. The only problem is, its a desktop application and I need a web-based way to do this. Do you know if the source for this is available? +1 – Hristo Jul 05 '11 at 22:23
Yes, the source is available. Go to the download link and at the bottom there's a link to the source code. – Optimal Cynic Jul 05 '11 at 22:25
hmm... sweet! this should be able to do the trick. I'll try to implement this in JavaScript since I need it on the web. – Hristo Jul 05 '11 at 22:26

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 05 '11 at 21:09

3

What's wrong with XSLT, SAX parsers, or DOM parsers?

Bindings for SAX and DOM parsers exist for all major languages (and pretty much every other language too). I would recommend DOM parsing using a functional language, but tastes differ.

XSLT is a functional language designed for processing XML.

answered Jul 05 '11 at 21:09

Marcin

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there's nothing wrong with those. I'm just trying to figure out how to construct the LaTeX string so if I can't find a library to do that for me, I'll resort to using the DOM parser probably (or SAX, haven't decided which is more beneficial to my case). the parsers alone can't build LaTeX strings right? – Hristo Jul 05 '11 at 22:25
@Hristo: Obviously, you use them to write your programme, but it's a very simple translation. – Marcin Jul 05 '11 at 22:44

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 14 '14 at 15:48

I had similar problem and mathparser provided in url from question wasn't working for me at all.

I converted MathML to LaTeX by using XSLT MathML Library with Saxon-HE but since XSLT MathML library is pure XSLT any XSLT transformation tool should handle it. Output is not always perfect but it gave me better results than web-xslt mentioned somewhere at stackexchange network.

Command line usage with saxon:

saxon -o output.tex input.mml xsltml_2.1.2/mmltex.xsl

MathML to LaTeX conversion

UPDATE

3 Answers3

Linked