.
Woudn't a MathML or LaTeX plugin for the wiki handle it much better?
-- RadomirDopieralski, 2006-12-15
+1 to this one, too.
It would but it goes against Cover the common things people need. IMO, it is very common.
Let's be bold and include the markup in Creole0.4.
-- EricChartre, 2007-01-11
Can you maybe backup your opinion with some actual examples?
I, for one, feel inconvinced -- haven't seen superscript in other context than math and chemistry for ages.
-- RadomirDopieralski, 2007-01-11
In a non mathematical context, I use it mostly for units of measurement i.e. square meter m^2^. I also use it for orders of magnitude and to express large numbers 1,342 x 10^14^.
-- EricChartre, 2007-01-11
So you mean units like "m²" and "m³" and large numbers like 1,342e14? :)
I'd use a math extension to get 1,342×10^14 though, if the notation is important, or even an image if you want to present specific typography. We must remember that this is markup for wikis, not general-purpose typesetting program -- as long as you can get the meaning across, the presentation is not that important.
Hey, how about an extension to Creole that turns "1,342e14" scientific notation into "1,342×10^^14^^" one? Mathching thses numbers with an regexp should be simple. Or even an extension to calculate on the fly expressions like "3*40-12". And a rule that turns "m2" into "m²". Or even an extension that adds the "^^" and "~" for "<sup>" and "<sub>"... Creole is extensible.
-- RadomirDopieralski, 2007-01-11
Unicode already has superscript and subscript numbers. All you need is a way to type or insert them. I can do it on my computer… I guess it depends on the software you have available.