User:Csirmaz

Creating the &lt;wikitex&gt; ... &lt;/wikitex&gt; tags for an easier entry of mathematical formulas.

Problems with the standard Math tags

 * too much to type, error prone (&lt;math&gt;x&lt;/math&gt; rather than $x$)
 * slow to generate the result (syntax checker -&gt; latex -&gt; postscipt -&gt; ghostscipt -&gt; convert )
 * white background (rather than transparent)
 * no proper vertical alignment
 * smart syntax checker which knows better than I do.

This formula $$\frac{1}{\displaystyle1+\frac{1}{\displaystyle 1+\sqrt{5}}}$$ is on a non-white background and aligned badly. While one can change formula background to transparent by hacking the helper function, it requires another round by the sloooow convert program.

What Extension:WikiTex offers

 * math text is entered between $ symbols
 * fast turnaround (using plain TeX -&gt; dvipng)
 * transparent background
 * proper vertical alignment (almost)
 * displayed formulas between $$ and $$
 * user costumizable TeX definition files

Caveats

 * no fancy things, all math is a picture
 * unfriendly error messages ( syntax error, that's all)
 * easy littering: pictures of erased math text remain around
 * possible formatting problems with new lines; certain extensions might not work properly (due to the recursive call to the wiki formatting)
 * tested on linux only