mdast-util-math
mdast extensions to parse and serialize math ($C_L$).
Contents
What is this?
This package contains two extensions that add support for math syntax in markdown to mdast. These extensions plug into mdast-util-from-markdown (to support parsing math in markdown into a syntax tree) and mdast-util-to-markdown (to support serializing math in syntax trees to markdown).
When to use this
This project is useful when you want to support math in markdown. Extending markdown with a syntax extension makes the markdown less portable. LaTeX equations are also quite hard. But this mechanism works well when you want authors, that have some LaTeX experience, to be able to embed rich diagrams of math in scientific text.
You can use these extensions when you are working with mdast-util-from-markdown and mdast-util-to-markdown already.
When working with mdast-util-from-markdown, you must combine this package with micromark-extension-math.
When you don’t need a syntax tree, you can use micromark directly with micromark-extension-math.
All these packages are used remark-math, which focusses on making it easier to transform content by abstracting these internals away.
This utility adds fields on nodes so that the utility responsible for turning mdast (markdown) nodes into hast (HTML) nodes, mdast-util-to-hast, turns text (inline) math nodes into <code class="language-math math-inline">…</code> and flow (block) math nodes into <pre><code class="language-math math-display">…</code></pre>.
Install
This package is ESM only. In Node.js (version 16+), install with npm:
npm install mdast-util-math
In Deno with esm.sh:
import {mathFromMarkdown, mathToMarkdown} from 'https://esm.sh/mdast-util-math@3'
In browsers with esm.sh:
<script type="module">
import {mathFromMarkdown, mathToMarkdown} from 'https://esm.sh/mdast-util-math@3?bundle'
</script>
Use
Say our document example.md contains:
Lift($L$) can be determined by Lift Coefficient ($C_L$) like the following
equation.
$$
L = \frac{1}{2} \rho v^2 S C_L
$$
…and our module example.js looks as follows:
import fs from 'node:fs/promises'
import {math} from 'micromark-extension-math'
import {fromMarkdown} from 'mdast-util-from-markdown'
import {mathFromMarkdown, mathToMarkdown} from 'mdast-util-math'
import {toMarkdown} from 'mdast-util-to-markdown'
const doc = await fs.readFile('example.md')
const tree = fromMarkdown(doc, {
extensions: [math()],
mdastExtensions: [mathFromMarkdown()]
})
console.log(tree)
const out = toMarkdown(tree, {extensions: [mathToMarkdown()]})
console.log(out)
…now running node example.js yields (positional info and data removed for brevity):
{
type: 'root',
children: [
{
type: 'paragraph',
children: [
{type: 'text', value: 'Lift('},
{type: 'inlineMath', value: 'L', data: {/* … */}},
{type: 'text', value: ') can be determined by Lift Coefficient ('},
{type: 'inlineMath', value: 'C_L', data: {/* … */}},
{type: 'text', value: ') like the following\nequation.'}
]
},
{type: 'math', meta: null, value: 'L = \\frac{1}{2} \\rho v^2 S C_L', data: {/* … */}}
]
}
Lift($L$) can be determined by Lift Coefficient ($C_L$) like the following
equation.
$$
L = \frac{1}{2} \rho v^2 S C_L
$$
API
This package exports the identifiers mathFromMarkdown and mathToMarkdown. There is no default export.
mathFromMarkdown()
Create an extension for mdast-util-from-markdown.
Returns
Extension for mdast-util-from-markdown (FromMarkdownExtension).
mathToMarkdown(options?)
Create an extension for mdast-util-to-markdown.
Parameters
options (ToOptions, optional) — configuration
Returns
Extension for mdast-util-to-markdown (ToMarkdownExtension).
InlineMath
Math (text) (TypeScript type).
Type
import type {Data, Literal} from 'mdast'
interface InlineMath extends Literal {
type: 'inlineMath'
data?: InlineMathData | undefined
}
export interface InlineMathData extends Data {}
Math
Math (flow) (TypeScript type).
Type
import type {Data, Literal} from 'mdast'
interface Math extends Literal {
type: 'math'
meta?: string | null | undefined
data?: MathData | undefined
}
export interface MathData extends Data {}
ToOptions
Configuration (TypeScript type).
Fields
singleDollarTextMath (boolean, default: true) — whether to support math (text) with a single dollar. Single dollars work in Pandoc and many other places, but often interfere with “normal” dollars in text. If you turn this off, you can still use two or more dollars for text math
HTML
This plugin integrates with mdast-util-to-hast. When mdast is turned into hast the math nodes are turned into <code class="language-math math-inline">…</code> and <pre><code class="language-math math-display">…</code></pre> elements.
Syntax
See Syntax in micromark-extension-frontmatter.
Syntax tree
The following interfaces are added to mdast by this utility.
Nodes
Math
interface Math <: Literal {
type: 'code'
meta: string?
}
Math (Literal) represents a block of math, such as LaTeX mathematical expressions.
Math can be used where flow content is expected. Its content is represented by its value field.
This node relates to the phrasing content concept InlineMath.
A meta field can be present. It represents custom information relating to the node.
For example, the following markdown:
$$
L = \frac{1}{2} \rho v^2 S C_L
$$
Yields:
{
type: 'math',
meta: null,
value: 'L = \\frac{1}{2} \\rho v^2 S C_L',
data: {/* … */}
}
InlineMath
interface InlineMath <: Literal {
type: 'inlineMath'
}
InlineMath (Literal) represents a fragment of computer code, such as a file name, computer program, or anything a computer could parse.
InlineMath can be used where phrasing content is expected. Its content is represented by its value field.
This node relates to the flow content concept Math.
For example, the following markdown:
$L$
Yields:
{type: 'inlineMath', value: 'L', data: {/* … */}}
Content model
FlowContent (math)
type FlowContentMath = Math | FlowContent
PhrasingContent (math)
type PhrasingContentMath = InlineMath | PhrasingContent
Types
This package is fully typed with TypeScript. It exports the additional types InlineMath, Math, and ToOptions.
It also registers the node types with @types/mdast. If you’re working with the syntax tree, make sure to import this utility somewhere in your types, as that registers the new node types in the tree.
/**
* @typedef {import('mdast-util-math')}
*/
import {visit} from 'unist-util-visit'
/** @type {import('mdast').Root} */
const tree = getMdastNodeSomeHow()
visit(tree, function (node) {
// `node` can now be one of the nodes for math.
})
Compatibility
Projects maintained by the unified collective are compatible with maintained versions of Node.js.
When we cut a new major release, we drop support for unmaintained versions of Node. This means we try to keep the current release line, mdast-util-math@^3, compatible with Node.js 16.
This plugin works with mdast-util-from-markdown version 2+ and mdast-util-to-markdown version 2+.
Contribute
See contributing.md in syntax-tree/.github for ways to get started. See support.md for ways to get help.
This project has a code of conduct. By interacting with this repository, organization, or community you agree to abide by its terms.
License
MIT © Titus Wormer