Subject: Can you look at some Java for Mathematics Inputting?

From: Carl David <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 97 12:48:45 EST

In Computer Assisted Testing using the World Wide Web, when
  applying the method to mathematics based subjects, one needs
  the ability to allow students to input equations as well as
  numbers as answers to individual questions.  In a separate
  posting, several months ago, I asked for criticism of a java
  module which allowed students to input chemical formulae
  into the Web for grading:
  http://www.chem.uconn.edu/~chem12x/cgi-bin/c127fin2.pl

     Now, I am asking for guidance in evaluating the equation
  entry scheme which is under development.  If you are inter-
  ested, could you try the location:
  http://www.chem.uconn.edu/~cdavid/cgi-bin/HowToUseWebEQ.pl
  where R. Miner's WebEQ(2) is implemented in a framed envi-
  ronment.  This implementation requires the student to write
  his/her equation in (what I call) pseudo-LaTeX.  Actually,
  the current implementation uses only a subset of LaTeX, and
  needs excessive curly brackets to demark ambiguous opera-
  tors.
  =======================
  I have tried using EqnWriter, the
  point and click applet, but it spasmodically works differ-
  ently on different platforms, making it (so far) unsuitable
  for students.
  ======================

     There is no question that the implemented method (above)
  is cumbersome, but the question is, is it so cumbersome that
  its use should not be attempted with undergraduates?

     Thanks for any advice, suggestions, etc., which you can
  provide with respect to this problem.
                                                 Carl W. David
                                        bitnet : david@uconnvm
                            internet : [email-masked]
                 http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~.cdavid/chem263.html
                             http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~/chem12x