LaTeX

LaTeX is a markup language (as is MediaWiki!) for producing mathematical texts of the highest quality. Its use is widespread in the mathematics world. It is built on plain TeX developed by Donald Knuth. You can embed LaTeX markups in mediawiki by the <math></math> tags.

Installation

• If you are using Linux, you probably have it already! Just type "latex".
• If you are using windows, the simplest thing to do is to open cygwin (the linux emulator on window) and type "latex". If you haven't installed cygwin, do it! You will often find it useful. The installation may take less than an hour but it is usually straightforward.

Step by step guide for beginners

1. create a file with .tex suffix, e.g. "helloworld.tex" (see /helloworld.tex)
2. go to your linux/cygwin/whatever shell go to the directory of your file "helloworld.tex" and type "linux helloworld"
3. a .dvi file will be created - you may view it directly if you have the right tools
4. if not, type "dvips helloworld" or type "dvipdf helloworld" to convert it to a postscript or pdf file
5. use ghostview to view the .ps fileadobe acroread to view the .pdf file

See also

• List of resources under LaTeX
• Topic:LaTeX - the organisation page for wikiversity learning activities on LaTeX
• b:LaTeX - the featured wikibook, available in .pdf format
• w:LaTeX - wikipedia article on LaTeX