ggtex

Description

You can define text objects in Geogebra containing complex math in LaTeX math mode, but the editor Geogebra offers for this is not very convenient.

For example, you must use your mouse to open a drop-down list and select an item everytime you want to insert the value of a Geogebra object (i.e., a number, a formula etc.) in the text.

ggtex is a tiny Python script to translate from modified LaTeX math mode to Geogebra code to define text objects.

With ggtex, you can use your favorite text editor to define your Geogebra text object. In your definition, you can include Geogebra objects delimited by the symbol @.

If you want to preview the contents of your text, you can use the preview feature of your LaTeX editor, or copy your text to a full LaTeX document and compile it to your favorite format.

When you are done defining your text, you use ggtex to translate it to Geogebra code, which you must then copy and paste into the Geogebra input bar.

For example, if you pass ggtex a file example.tex containing

\[
  @a@ x^2 + @FractionText(b)@ x = 0
\]

then ggtex will output a file example.tex.ggtex with contents

FormulaText(Simplify(
a + " x^2 + " + FractionText(b) + " x = 0"
))

If a is a number defined in your Geogebra session with value, say, 10, and b is a number with value, say, 2.5, then this code, when entered in the Geogebra input bar, will produce a text object containing

ggtex is a command-line script. It must be run in a terminal.

Installation

GNU-Linux

1. You need to have some version of Python 3 installed.

2. Download the file ggtex.py and save it somewhere, preferably in ~/bin.

3. Make it executable (if necessary, replace ~/bin with the directory where you saved the file):

   chmod a+x ~/bin/ggtex.py
   

4. You need to have the docopt module, which can be installed with

   pip3 install docopt
   

Windows

1. You need to have some version of Python 3 installed.

2. Download the file ggtex.py and save it somewhere.

3. You need to have the docopt module, which can be installed with

   pip3 install docopt
   

   entered at the terminal.

Usage

Using ggtex at the Python interpreter prompt

1. Make sure the file ggtex.py is in a directory in your Python Module Search Path (PMSP). Check the contents of your PMSP by executing the following at the Python prompt:

   import sys
   sys.path
   

2. At the Python prompt, enter

   from ggtex import ggtex
   

3. To convert a file named path/to/file.tex, enter

   ggtex('path/to/file.tex')
   

4. The translated code will be saved in file path/to/file.tex.ggtex. Open it in any text editor, copy its entire contents and paste them into the Geogebra input bar.

Using ggtex on GNU-Linux

Method 1

1. Suppose you saved the ggtex.py file as path/to/ggtex.py and made it executable.

2. Open a terminal running bash.

3. To convert a file named path/to/file.tex, enter

   path/to/ggtex.py path/to/file.tex
   

   or, if ggtex.py was saved in a directory in your PATH, enter

   ggtex.py path/to/file.tex
   

4. The translated code will be saved in file path/to/file.tex.ggtex. Open it in any text editor, copy its entire contents and paste them into the Geogebra input bar.

Method 2

1. Suppose you saved the ggtex.py file as path/to/ggtex.py.

2. Open a terminal running bash.

3. To convert a file named path/to/file.tex, enter

   python3 path/to/ggtex.py path/to/file.tex
   

4. The translated code will be saved in file path/to/file.tex.ggtex. Open it in any text editor, copy its entire contents and paste them into the Geogebra input bar.

Using ggtex on Windows

Method 1

1. This will work if your Windows system is configured to execute .py files by sending them to the Python 3 interpreter. If it doesn’t work, try method 2 below.

2. Suppose you saved the ggtex.py file as C:\path\to\ggtex.py.

3. Open a terminal.

4. To convert a file named C:\path\to\file.tex, enter

   C:\path\to\ggtex.py C:\path\to\file.tex
   

5. The translated code will be saved in file C:\path\to\file.tex.ggtex. Open it in any text editor, copy its entire contents and paste them into the Geogebra input bar.

Method 2

1. Suppose you saved the ggtex.py file as C:\path\to\ggtex.py.

2. Open a terminal.

3. To convert a file named C:\path\to\file.tex, enter

   python3 C:\path\to\ggtex.py C:\path\to\file.tex
   

4. The translated code will be saved in file C:\path\to\file.tex.ggtex. Open it in any text editor, copy its entire contents and paste them into the Geogebra input bar.

How to write LaTeX code for ggtex

• The file passed to ggtex must contain a LaTeX math snippet, optionally surrounded by display math markers \[ and \], not a complete LaTeX document.

• Everything in the snippet must be in math mode.

• If you want to display text along with the math, use \text{}.

• You can embed Geogebra commands that generate text — e.g., values and definitions of Geogebra objects, fractions, formulae etc. — using the @ delimiter.

• Here is a more complex example:

  \fbox{
    \textbf{Completing the square:}\\
    \\
    \begin{aligned}
      @a@ x^2 + @b@ x
      &= @a@ \left( x^2 + @FractionText(b/a)@ x \right) \\
      &= @a@ \left( x^2 + @FractionText(b/a)@ x +
        @FractionText(b^2/(4*a^2))@ -  @FractionText(b^2/(4*a^2))@ \right) \\
      &= @a@ \left( x + @FractionText(b/(2a))@ \right)^2 
        - @FractionText(b^2/(4a))@
    \end{aligned}
  }

• This, after being translated by ggtex and entered in Geogebra, renders as

  

• Try this example and play with the sliders in Geogebra.

Useful Geogebra functions for text objects

• The Geogebra text command reference lists some pretty powerful functions to produce text objects such as

  • Continued fractions

  • Fraction representations/approximations of real numbers: try FractionText(pi)

  • Numbers in scientific notation

  • Surd representations: try SurdText(2.439230484541326)

  • and more

• Geogebra’s Computer Algebra commands can also be useful in text objects.