Writing LaTeX: Difference between revisions

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There are many excellent introductions to writing mathematics with LaTeX, for example [http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~hildebr/tex/course/ Introduction to LaTeX].  Below is a quick and dirty example to start with.
LaTeX is the language in which most mathematics and physics documents
LaTeX is the language in which most mathematics and physics documents
are written.  Mathematical symbols and equations are written in a
are written.  Mathematical symbols and equations are written in a
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LaTeX commands start with a back slash <code>\</code>. Sometimes they
LaTeX commands start with a back slash <code>\</code>. Sometimes they
have an argument in curly brackets, e.g <code>\sqrt{b^2-4ac}</code>.
have an argument in curly brackets, e.g <code>\sqrt{b^2-4ac}</code>.  Most of the commands in the document above are self-explanatory.


To convert this into a readable document first save it into a file
To convert this into a readable document first save it into a file
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Then you need to process it.  If you are using GNU/Linux, see
Then you need to process it.  If you are using GNU/Linux, see
[[Processing LaTeX with GNU/Linux systems]].
[[Processing LaTeX with GNU/Linux systems]].
===links===
[http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~hildebr/tex/course/ Introduction to LaTeX]
[http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~hildebr/tex/basics.html LaTeX Tips]

Revision as of 19:30, 24 December 2006

There are many excellent introductions to writing mathematics with LaTeX, for example Introduction to LaTeX. Below is a quick and dirty example to start with.

LaTeX is the language in which most mathematics and physics documents are written. Mathematical symbols and equations are written in a special markup. For example an integral sign is inserted with \int. The best way to learn LaTeX is by example. Here is a basic LaTeX file:

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{article}
\usepackage{amsfonts,amsthm,amsmath,amssymb}
\title{Simple example} 

\begin{document}
\maketitle
 
\section{Quadratic equation}

We want to solve $ax^2+bx+c$.  The solution is
\begin{equation}
  x= \frac{-b\pm \sqrt{b^2 -4ac}}{2a}
\end{equation}

\end{document}

LaTeX commands start with a back slash \. Sometimes they have an argument in curly brackets, e.g \sqrt{b^2-4ac}. Most of the commands in the document above are self-explanatory.

To convert this into a readable document first save it into a file with a .tex extension, e.g. sample.tex. Then you need to process it. If you are using GNU/Linux, see Processing LaTeX with GNU/Linux systems.

links

Introduction to LaTeX LaTeX Tips