MathJax provides the ability to type up equations neatly on a web browser using existing formulae type scripts such as MathML, TeX, and ASCIImath. You can edit your equations at Equation Editor and then paste them into your blog. There are two styles catered for, 'block' and 'inline', and in this 'MathJax' plugin you can use the code tags [mathblock] and [math] respectively. The tag 'math' is preferred over 'mathspan' as it is shorter in situations where the formulae are likely to be short or uncomplicated. The [mathblock] tag pair equates to '\[..\]' and the [math] tag pair equates to '\(..\)' which MathJax would normally search for and replace within your contents, only I found those obscure and wanted something more in keeping with other plugins.
Block Style
[mathblock]
x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}
[/mathblock]
\[x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}\]
[mathblock]
{x^{11}+x^{10}+x^9+x^6+x^4+x^3+x} \over {x^4+x^3+x}
[/mathblock]
\[{x^{11}+x^{10}+x^9+x^6+x^4+x^3+x} \over {x^4+x^3+x}\]
Inline Style
<p>ln line with text, [math]x^2[/math] is a quadratic.</p>
ln line with text, \(x^2\) is a quadratic.
Menu
It turns out there is a right click menu associated with each rendering of a formula or equation. This has a handy "Copy to Clipboard" feature, and allows you to change the renderer between CHTML and SVG (vector-based picture).
Known Issues
The MathJax Equation syntax has proven that it is incompatible with at least one other prevalent plugin, the Markdown text renderer. Markdown uses '[' and ']' in hyperlinks as in the following potted example.
[link text](https://www.url.com/)
The Markdown plugin currently parses the '\[' characters first and converts them to just '[' and hence MathJax does not find the tags for a [mathblock]. A quick experiment to alter the priorities of MathJax and Markdown plugins did not resolve the problem.
References
- MathJax
- Equation Editor
- LaTeX Mathematics Wiki for additional symbols
- Mathematical expressions