I can’t remember when I first met , but it was not love at first sight. I remember thinking: “Why do it this difficult when it exists free word processing alternatives like OpenOffice?”. This first meeting must have been in early 90’s. After this initial face I just avoided LaTeX in general (no, I’m for sure not a programmer).

When I started studying in fall 2010 I was again challenged by LaTeX code. The college had a liberal policy regarding what word processor we could use, but almost all professors strongly encourage us to learn LaTeX. All students felt a bit trapped by this informal pressure of using LaTeX. By using LaTeX you write the raw text almost as HTML code and compile this into a viewable & portable document (e.g. DVI, PS or PDF). Nevertheless, I decided early in first semester to give LaTeX a chance. I was curious about why people was so enthusiastic regarding this odd (and perhaps troublesome) way to produce documents.

I manage rather quickly to get a LaTeX environment up and running on my local Windows XP based computer. My choice was MikTeX as the distribution and TexMaker as the editor. The distribution are collections of packages and programs (compilers, fonts, and macro packages).  This phase included several strange deadlocks situations that also learned me troubleshooting. Backup is crucial! I now was able to easily recognize documents that was produced by LaTeX. These documents have often the same sharp times font and are very professional (academic) looking. In this learning phase I ended up fiddling around my LaTeX code and spent much more time creating text than I would with an old mechanic typewriter, however – I was starting to get a grip on LaTeX. No doubt, learning LaTeX made me swear from time to time.

LaTeX example – code (math mode): f(x) = f(a) + (x-a)f'(a) + {(x-a)^2 \over 2} f”(a) + \cdots = \sum_{i=0}^\infty {(x-a)^i \over i!} f^{(i)}(a)

LaTeX example – compiled result:

Writing on my thesis these days makes me happy writing in LaTeX. The code fiddling are (almost) non existent. I do occasionally test out new packages/templates/styles and play around to see what they are capable of. Good backup routines is always crucial whatever application you use. The power of LaTeX is pure fun! The initial time used in learning LaTeX is a good investment for producing documents, especially in academic work. Today, I consider myself a LaTeX fan and understand fully why so many people use it!

There are tons of LaTeX documentations and tutorials on Internet. Some initial search may end up with pages including plastic wrapped curvy girls, but you soon narrow down the search to get helpful documents online.

Please visit Tex User Group’s Showcase: http://www.tug.org/texshowcase/ and WordPress support for LaTeX http://en.support.wordpress.com/latex/

Roger L