Mathematical Basis of Usability

Mathematical notation is a system of symbolic representations of mathematical objects and ideas. It includes simple symbolic representations such as numbers, functions, symbols, variables and also more complex symbols like matrices. User input of mathematical notation by means of standard input devices - a computer keyboard and a mouse - presents several challenges. These arise mostly from the fact that these devices were designed for a different purpose - for input of plain text with the addition of a limited support for keyboard commands and the ability to mark a single spot on the screen.