[Blindmath] Translating documents with MathML into Nemeth (CORRECTION)

[Susan Jolly]

Birkir,

Are you saying that you prefer to use a braille display in no-translate 
mode?  In other words, you just let the braille display use its computer 
braille table to convert ASCII text to eight-dot braille?

This is not a standard approach but if it is what you want to do, it's fine 
by me. Don't forget that different displays use different computer braille 
tables.

I don't see why it wouldn't work if your braille display received a mix of 
ASCII text directly from a web page and some ASCII braille that represents 
Nemeth.  (Of course, if your computer braille table doesn't use lower 
numbers, you are going to have  to deal with two different ways of 
representing the decimal digits.)

Any problems would not be related to Nemeth math but rather to ensuring that 
liblouis (or other braille translator) that supplies the braille math 
translation represents the braille cells using the same computer braille 
table as your braille display.  I believe that is already one of the options 
in liblouis.

There aren't many differences between computer braille and North American 
ASCII braille.  ASCII braille typically uses capital letters to represent 
the braille letters although most six-dot embossers can use either. Computer 
braille uses small letters to represent the six-dot braille letters and 
capital letters to represent the computer braille capital letters with an 
added dot seven.  Nemeth is a six-dot code but I believe it would work with 
computer braille capital letters. I don't know whether liblouis has an 
option where you can use the eight-dot capitals rather than inserting 
capitalization indicators but if not, that would be a minor change.

There are five other mapping differences between computer braille and ASCII 
braille which are easily addressed in an output table.

Susan

P.S.  BANA has an official Computer Braille Code which is a six-dot code and 
is not the same as the computer braille tables in an eight-dot braille 
display.  I'm just adding this to hopefully avoid confusion.