Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Johannes Rauh -
Number of replies: 13

I just browsed the moodle documentaion on using TeX notation (https://docs.moodle.org/28/en/Using_TeX_Notation) and I found several issues:

  1. The documentation does not mention the possibility to insert TeX inline using "slash-parenthesis", e.g. \(\frac{a}{b}\).  It only mentions the possibility of using `$$`, which always opens a display in a new line.
  2. At several points the documentation recommends to put ordinary non-escaped text in math displays, e.g.
    $$ If \ \sqrt[n]{1024} \ = \ 4, \ wahat \ is \ the \ value \ of \ n? $$
    $$If \ \sqrt[n]{1024} \ = \ 4, \ wahat \ is \ the \ value \ of \ n? $$
    It is one of the first things one learns when learning TeX that one should never do this, and so it would be great if the documentation could be changed at this point.
Average of ratings: -
In reply to Johannes Rauh

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators

Hello there and thankyou for your comments about the documentation on TeX. The documentation is a wiki and so everyone is welcome to contribute to it; it is a collaborative, community built document. it would be great if you could log in to the documentation - use your Moodle.org account - and add the items you think are important. 

Just a note that the current version is 2.9 and so if you would like to add to the 2.9 documentation here:  https://docs.moodle.org/29/en/Using_TeX_Notation as well, you are very welcome.

In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Johannes Rauh -
Somehow it doesn't work: I cannot log in to docs.moodle.org (but obviously I'm logged in to moodle.org; otherwise I could not write to the forum...).  I'll try again tomorrow.
In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Johannes Rauh -

I cannot login on the documentation page (purple), only on the main page (ornage).  When I click on "login" on the documentation page, I am told that "user jarauh does not exist."  When I try to create that user, then I am told that the user does exist already.  Whom should I contact?  Neither this forum page nor the documentation page gives a good contact.

In reply to Johannes Rauh

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators
Hello. Here is the sign up page for Moodle docs 2.9

Log in with the same username and the password you use for when you log into Moodle (to post in this forum.)
Does that work?

In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Johannes Rauh -

That's what I tried several times.  The same username and password works in the form, but not for the documentation.

In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
I can confirm what Johannes is experiencing. When I visit https://docs.moodle.org/29/en/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Special%3AUserLogin%2Fsignup and login it throws the error in the attached screen-shot. But I can continue and edit the /29/en/ Wiki. This is on Firefox (Iceweasel) 38 on Debian. It does not happen in Chromium 37, Debian.
Attachment moodledocslogin.png
In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Matt Spurrier -

Hi folks,

Looks like this was a wiki issue (php strict standards violation killing the request).
I've worked around the issue, and am now able to login to docs without issues.

Please give it a go and see if it works for you.

Matt

In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
Mary

https://docs.moodle.org/29/en/Using_TeX_Notation starts with "TeX (pronounced TEK)" which is also horror in the ears of any (La)TeX fan. If you follow the reference given there, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX, it says, "TeX (/ˈtɛx/ tekh (with the final consonant sounding like Ancient Greek's [kʰ] or English's /x/) but often pronounced /ˈtɛk/ tek in English)". Side track: If it is about pronounciation, shouldn't https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet be used?

P.S. Please don't ask me to scan close to 15 wikis, each with its own login, and edit each. (You know the history. ;egg
In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators

Hello Johannes. Sorry you are not able to get into the docs. I tried myself with an existing Moodle account that did not yet have a Moodle docs account and I couldn't log in either, so I reported it in the tracker here: /MDLSITE-4234

Hopefully this will be looked at soon and you will be able to contribute; thankyou for your patience.

In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators

Hello Visvanath. I've added a note about pronunciation to the 2.9 and 3.0 docs of Using TeX Notation

In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
Thanks Mary, you're tireless!
smile

There is a small problem though. The Wiki used in Moodle Docs does not follow https://docs.moodle.org/en/Using_TeX_Notation. It does not obey the "DollarDollar" tag, uses <math> instead. Even then does not know the sequence \TeX!

The example below shows that the moodle.org forum obeys "DollarDollar":
$$ \TeX \frac{a}{b} $$
In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Mauno Korpelainen -

Moodle Docs are using a mediawiki extension that supports a limited subset of TeX with math tags https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Formula

Most new moodle sites are using MathJax with filter and I have a feeling that it was enabled only on Mathematics Tools forum https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=752 here on moodle.org ( testing: \( \int_{a}^{b}{c} \) )

And some old sites still use Mimetex syntax so an advanced documentation should probably have some kind of a combination of such syntax that works in all of these + some examples or links to different syntax based on different renderers/extensions/configurations and so on. Writing such docs is a huge task - nobody volunteered in the past smile

In reply to Mauno Korpelainen

Re: Issues with TeX documentation on docs.moodle.org

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
Hi Mauno

Thanks for explaining. To somebody who just types 'latex' at the command line (Tex Live behind it) the different possibilities you mention are too complicated.

My point was, it TeX in Moodle Docs were identical to TeX in moodle.org, the life of some of those (unmotivated) volunteers would be more pleasant.

Or to put it another way, it is easier and nicer to document a document processing system from within itself!
smile