The basic problem is this: in math (and other disciplines), we write a LaTeX markup file and then compile it to PDF. PDF is basically a paper simulator and lacks many features which webpages/sites can have.
An alternative would be to have a versatile but still constrained markup language (e.g. an extension of LaTeX, or a constrained org-mode) which can be compiled or "exported" to HTML among other formats.
Some of the benefits would include
- Folding of text: hiding parts of the document until further details are desired
- more sophisticated linking between (parts of) documents
- nonlinear/hierarchical document structure
- including media such as animation/tutorials
- running code in the document
The question is: how to approach the development of the system. For example, many of the features could be implemented, say in jquery or some such, but the system should be independent of implementation. How does one proceed in a future-proof way whereby the choices are not regretted down the line?
Note that this is not about typesetting -- I am aware of the web typesetting problem. This is about the inadequacy of PDF as a document format for the future.
