MathML Core

This specification defines a core subset of Mathematical Markup Language, or MathML, that is suitable for browser implementation.

(From MathML Core: W3C Editor's Draft 16 March 2026)

The MathML 3 specification has several shortcomings that make it hard to implement consistently across web rendering engines or to extend with user-defined constructions, e.g.:

• It is a huge and standalone specification.
• It does not contain any detailed rendering rules.
• It is not driven by browser-implementation.
• It lacks automated testing.

This MathML Core specification intends to address these issues by being as accurate as possible on the visual rendering of mathematical formulas using additional rules from the TeXBook’s Appendix G and from the Open Font Format. It also relies on modern browser implementations and web technologies HTML, SVG, CSS2, and DOM, clarifying interactions with them when needed or introducing new low-level primitives to improve the web platform layering.