Introduction to LaTeX

What is LaTeX

Taken from the LaTeX-projects website,

LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system; it includes features designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents.

How to use it?

A LaTeX document is compiled from a .tex file with the text and LaTeX code for your document. Typically, the compiler renders a .pdf file from the LaTeX code and creates a document with a specific format. To compile a .tex file directly from the terminal, you can use pdflatex:

pdflatex your_latex_file.tex

You often need to run this command twice for all changes to be displayed correctly.

Since this course typically involves collaborating with others on a single document, a simple solution is to use Overleaf for the writing and compilation process.

Note

Many people can work simultaneously on the same Overleaf document, even when using the free version of Overleaf, as mentioned here. Just use the link sharing option when you share the document with your collaborators.

However, you can of course also just use your git repository to collaborate on a .tex file, like you would for any code file. Use whatever solution works best for you and your collaborators.

LaTeX resources

Here are some LaTeX resources that might come in handy:

• Overleaf’s beginner’s guide to LaTeX

• Overleaf’s documentation pages have info on all aspects of LaTeX that you will need for this course

• Don’t know the TeX command for a mathematical symbol? Try drawing the symbol in Detexify…

• …or look for it in this document of 18150 symbols and corresponding LaTeX commands