TeX and LaTeX
For documentation on TeX and LaTeX, please refer to the booklist below,
as well as the WWW references below.
"TeX is a powerful tool for creating professional-quality typeset text and is unsurpassed at typesetting mathematical equations, scientific text, and multiple languages."
(excerpted from a review of Making TeX Work (see below))
TeX is a raw typesetting engine; I don't recomend its direct use except
for very simple or very esoteric material.
LaTeX puts many sophisticated canned formats on top of TeX and
takes the burden of formatting the document out of your hands almost completely.
Many journals are currently accepting computer readable LaTeX material
(article style, two column format) directly. Let me know if you want details.
The commands available are:
- Compile & format a TeX document:
- tex document.tex
- Compile & format a LaTeX document:
- latex document.tex
- Preview a compiled document:
- xdvi document.dvi
- Convert to postcript for printing:
- dvips document.dvi
- Preview a postscript document:
- gs document.ps
- Convert postcript to another printer format:
- See the page on ghostscript.
Please consult the documentation for these commands for further details.
Please ask me for tutorials on LaTeX or TeX if you need them. Eventually they will be added here anyway.
Books on TeX and LaTeX
- A Document Preparation System: LaTeX, by Leslie Lamport; Addison-Wesley, 2nd edition, 1984.
Tutorial based with reference guide.
- The LaTeX Companion by Goossens, Mittelbach and Samarin, Addison Weslesy, 1984.
Describes many of the new extras that come with LaTeX 2e.
- The TeXBook, by Donald Knuth. Tutorial based with exercises and reference guide.
- Making TeX Work, by Norman Walsh; published by O'Reilly & Associates.
Overview of the TeX software system.
WWW links about TeX
SSD 3-Apr-95