Tips and tools for managing LaTeX
Powerful Format
LaTeX has a reputation for being difficult to use, but mainly it just requires patience. We provide a quick overview to get you up and running.
Lamport TeXt (LaTeX) is one of free software's legendary applications [1]. Before LibreOffice or AbiWord, it was the most advanced tool on Linux for formatting text. Even today, it is widely used in the academic sciences and in some publishing houses. Users speak of compiling their first lengthy document in LaTeX in the same way others talk of compiling their first Linux kernel, and several professors tell me that students regularly have to be prevented from obsessing over LaTeX at the expense of their research.
LaTeX has a reputation for being difficult, but not because of its complexity. Instead, the difficulty lies in the size of the project. Adding to the difficulty is the number of editors designed for it, including extensions for both Vim and Emacs [2], as well as LyX, a graphical interface [3]. The difficulty in learning LaTeX does not lie in the concepts, as much as in finding the right tools.
At its heart, though, LaTeX is actually simple. Basically, it is a combination of a markup language similar to HTML and a collection of formatting macros. Creating a document in LaTeX consists of three steps:
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 43 Has Finally Landed
The Fedora Linux developers have announced their latest release, Fedora 43.
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.
-
LMDE 7 Now Available
Linux Mint Debian Edition, version 7, has been officially released and is based on upstream Debian.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.