web interface proof of concept



So I started using maxima less than a year ago and I have
loved it. I needed a versatile way of using it at home,
work and school, so I learned some super basics of php and
javascript and put together the following: (recommended in
firefox or konqueror, I think internet explorer and opera
work but not to sure and don't use safari or it will crash
your browser). 
 
http://www.et.byu.edu/~koj/maxima.html 
 
and a screenshot at  
http://www.public.asu.edu/~kojohnso/icons/maxima_ss2.png 
 
If you refresh the page you restart. It uses a script
tex2im to convert the math into images. So it doesn't
require mathml for nice math, yet it is also fast. It isn't
perfect and more to serve as a proof of concept. I wanted
to know how much interest there is for such an interface
and if there is I would continue to develop it with help or
advice. 
 
It has a lot of potential. It works enough for me, though I
have incorporated some limitations (like no system commands
etc). Future major features would include other output like
the standard 2d ascii text or other forms of output,
loading and restoring sessions, plotting and other things.

Since I had started writing this webpage I saw some sites
(via the mail list) that offer a web interface though
usually through an 'integrate' or 'derivative' box and one
that does a general interface here that also looks
interesting. 
 
http://icm.mcs.kent.edu/research/demo.html 
 
Let me know what you think. 
 
OthO Johnson


		
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