mattst88's MathML tutorial chapter #2

MathML Tutorials: 1 2

Chapter 2: Over, Under, and Around

So you've now see how to form basic mathematical expressions. Now let's learn how to do the stuff a <p> tag won't let you do.

We first start off with the <msup> tag. This tag allows you to put a superscript on an identifier or a number.

${x}^{2}$
```<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
<msup>
<mi>x</mi>
<mn>2</mn>
</msup>
[/itex]```

The next related tag is <msub>. It allows you to put subscripts on identifiers.

${v}_{i}$
```<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
<msub>
<mi>v</mi>
<mi>i</mi>
</msub>
[/itex]```

Let's say you needed to write the equation for the average acceleration. To denote 'average' we put a horizontal line across the 'a' representing acceleration. MathML has that covered also with the <mover> tag.

$\stackrel{‾}{a}$
```<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
<mover>
<mi>a</mi>
<mo>&OverBar;</mo>
</mover>
[/itex]```

The same goes for under with the <munder> tag.

$\underset{⏟}{x}$
```<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
<munder>
<mi>x</mi>
<mo>&UnderBrace;</mo>
</munder>
[/itex]```

At this point you might ask: what if I need a superscript and a subscript? If you did, you'd be interested in the <msubsup> tag. Just remember that the subscript comes first in the markup followed my the superscript. Hence the 'subsup' part of the tag.

${v}_{i}^{2}$
```<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
<msubsup>
<mi>v</mi>
<mi>i</mi>
<mn>2</mn>
</msub>
[/itex]```

The exact same thing holds true for the <munderover> tag. I bet you can't figure out what order things go in for this one. At this point, I don't need to show an example.

You've done great! You should be able to do many things with MathML now. For further reading, see