German Braille Mathematics

The Formal Name of the Braille Code

Das System der Mathematikschrift in der Deutschen Brailleschrift.

This braille math system was agreed to in 2013 and published in 2015. The German braille mathematics code is the first comprehensive system in the world, and it is possible to see its influence in many other codes.

Data Entry Considerations

To use the German mathematics translator, you must use the math style in DBT to surround the passages of mathematics. Depending on your data entry method, this may be done for you. For example, all LaTeX files show the distinction between text mode and math mode (also called technical notation). As DBT imports the LaTeX file into DBT, it applies the math style to the technical notation for you, simplifying the process.

Working Directly in DBT

To enter your math when working directly in DBT, for a section consisting mostly of technical notation, first, highlight the entire section, then press F8 to apply a style and select math for the style. If there is a text passage within that section that would not work well in a math translator, you can apply to it the style, math-TextInMath. Note that both the start and end style markers of a math-TextInMath passage must lie entirely within the math style. Failure to do so may cause DBT to get lost in the translation (i.e. to do unexpected things).

More About Working with LaTeX Files

When you open a LaTeX file in DBT, DBT's math importer assigns the DBT style math wherever the LaTeX is in math mode, and the DBT style math-TextInMath wherever the LaTeX is text within math mode. For numbers and other mathematical symbols written in text mode in a LaTeX file, the math style will not be applied automatically. You may need to do that manually.

There are many ways to create LaTeX files. Some examples are: using the program Scientific Notebook, and using the program InftyReader on scanned material. There are other possible programs, such as TeXnicCenter, TeXStudio, LyX, and more. Duxbury Systems has long recommended the product Scientific Notebook (by MacKichan Software) because of its maturity and ease of use.

DBT Templates

These DBT templates all use the German mathematics braille translator: