[Om] maple to mathematica translator

[Jacques Carette]

Paul Libbrecht wrote:
>> Probably not what the people on the OM list want to hear, but ever since
>> Maple 7 and Mathematica 5 (whatever was released in 2001, see
>> http://www.w3.org/Math/iandi/ for example), through MathML one can
>> 'translate' between the two systems.  This is automatic via
>> cut-and-paste of MathML.
>
> I wish you were right but, as far as I know you can only paste MathML 
> into Maple.
> Copying first involves invoking a function that generates the MathML, 
> or using the "export as html" (where you can read the mathML-content 
> as applet params, oh glory!).

Right, 'copy' does not automatically put the MathML format onto the 
clipboard, for any of the interfaces (in Maple).  You have to do this 
manually.  Hmmm, I thought it used to put out MathML on the clipboard 
too, I must have mis-remembered.  Too bad, that would be a nice feature.

It does seem you can paste MathML as a 'string' in Mathematica, and then 
use ImportString[] to read it in properly.  Awkward, yes, but feasible.

> (note, this was in Maple 10 on Mac, there may be differences and 
> novelties in Maple 11 or 12)
Nope - just checked Maple 12 on Windows, still no improvement there.

>> Maple has a MathML[Export] function built-in (which exports Content and
>> Presentation in parallel, usually the best choice).  Mathematica's
>> ImportString[] function knows how to decode MathML (see
>> http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/ref/format/MathML.html for an
>> example).
>
> with the usual incompatibilities... e.g. isn't there a few inverse 
> trigonometric functions which are incompatible and one of the two 
> exports a csymbol?
Maple's MathML Content export doesn't use csymbol for any of the inverse 
trig (or inverse hyperbolic trig for that matter).  Of course, the 
definitions that each system uses for these functions may indeed be 
incompatible.

Jacques