LaTex: Is It Still Relevant for Physics Students?

[Hector Mata]

I know how to type latex on these forums, but I never knew about latex document programs that function similar to Microsoft word. What should I download? I'm interested to try it out

I use TexMaker, it's downloadable and free.

 

[Hector Mata]

I'm currently undecided on a major (having taken math, computer programming & science, and sociology courses heavily the past year), but would LaTex be useful to non-STEM fields or general everyday life?

I've wondered also if I should take it up.
Thanks.

I say you should.

Pros: LaTeX pays off mostly when producing long documents with lots of inner structure (i.e., index, parts, chapters, sections, subsections, appendix, etc.), or when there are many tables, figures, code listings, or math. I think it is worth it even if you write pure text (like a novel, for example) simply because of the control it offers over format, layout, presentation, etc. Many editors include basic word-processing features like spell-check and templates for common documents. You can also use LaTex to create PowerPoint-like presentations, which is useful if your topic involves math. If you ever get stuck on anything, you can google "latex [your problem]" and get answers instantly.

Drawkacks: it is probably overkill to use LaTex if you're just going to write a two-paragraph memo. Also, if the document is the result of a group assignment (say, a lab report or something) and you're the only one who knows LaTex, you may be in trouble. It may be better to feign ignorance in those cases .

 

[NickAtNight]

Trying out Tex writer for my iPad. So far so good. It was the app with the most reviews...

 

[wle]

The big advantage of the Word equation editor is that the equation looks like an equation as you are composing it. In LaTex, the final equations are beautiful, but the composed text of the equations is, in my opinion, often very hard to relate to, particularly if there is lots of nesting of different kinds of parenthesis.

It's a good idea to write macros that cover common constructions in your Latex source. For example, putting

\newcommand{\bigro}[1]{\bigl(#1\bigr)}

in the preamble of your document will let you type

\bigro{stuff}

instead of

\bigl( stuff \bigr)

to get a matching set of larger sized parentheses. Correctly matching opening and closing brackets of different types and sizes was also something I found very error prone (and hard to read) until I started writing macros like these. (This is also in keeping with Latex's philosophy of expressing the semantics of a document: if a particular repeating sequence of commands "means" something, you should say so in the form of a new command that implements that sequence.)

For editing, personally I've used Emacs with AUCTeX and preview-latex for virtually all Latex editing for four or five years now. The preview-latex mode in particular let's you compile and display equations and other parts of a Latex document directly in the Emacs buffer containing your document source code. It doesn't help with actually composing formulas (you still have to type the Latex code yourself), but it does help keep the source buffer more readable and easier to navigate.

 

[DrDu]

The question is rather what is going to replace latex. Latex is a language centered on nice layout in printed form. With more and more texts being consumed electronically, this is more a problem, than a feature. You also cannot produce documents with markup so as to make pdf's accessible for e.g. blind people. This is a big problem in public organizations where all documents have to be handicaped accessible by law.

 

[OldEngr63]

I have been using LaTeX for 30 years now, but never directly. I use Scientific WorkPlace, ver 5.5, which takes away the pain. It also gives me in-line computing capability with Mu Pad, a Maple-like capability that is included. This way, I can work the problem and write it up, all in the same process. It is wonderful for engineering reports and papers, and I would not dream of using Word (ugh!) or any other ordinary word processor.

 

[robphy]

This is getting closer to $\LaTeX$ from handwriting recognition:
http://webdemo.myscript.com/#/demo/equation

 

[Ray Vickson]

As a current Physics student, I am wondering if LaTex is still worth learning?

How often is LaTex still used, and do you think WYSIWYG editors like Microsoft Word has replaced the need to learn LaTex?

I appreciate your opinions. Thanks

If you prefer to use a WYSIWYG editor but still want to implement TeX/LaTeX, you can use the freely-downloadable package LyX--it essentially produces LaTeX output and thus compiles the document in LaTex/Tex. It has lots of palettes that allow for clickable symbol and/or formatting implementation. If you do happen to need some aspect of LaTeX that LyX cannot do easily, you can always open the file in an editor and type in the appropriate LaTeX command/instructions, but the number of occasions requiring that will be close to zero. You can also do drawings using Tikz/Pgf, or import jpeg or pdf pictures directly.

 

[SF49erfan]

Alright, I'm convinced...where do I download Latex to use?

Hopefully, it's not too hard to learn. I actually want to learn it by Spring 2016 semester, so I can start turning in homework using it.

 

[micromass]

You can start by doing things online: www.overleaf.com Try out that site, it's really handy. If you're more familiar an if you like it, you can download it. If you're on windows, then I recommend downloading Miktex first and then texniccenter. Be sure to install miktex before opening texniccenter.

A good guide to LaTeX can be found here: mirror.ctan.org/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf although I prefer just watching a typed document to see what they did and just mimicking it.

 

[SF49erfan]

Too many recommendations, micromass! Shouldn't I just start with LaTeX?

Or, do I need to run LaTeX in some other program?

I just searched and found this: http://latex-project.org/

I guess I'll have to explore a bit, but from reading this thread I'm convinced it will be useful for a variety of things in the future for me.

 

[micromass]

LaTeX is just a language. There is no program called "LaTeX". You will need several programs in order to produce LaTeX documents. The website overleaf I linked allows you to do it without downloading anything. If you want it on your computer, you'll need to download miktex and texniccenter (or other things, but I recommend these two).

 

[SF49erfan]

Yeah. Just realizing that now, micromass.

Thanks very much. I'll take a look at overleaf as well. That sounds like a great recommendation too!

Appreciate all the help and look forward to learning to type documents in LaTeX! I currently use Microsoft Word and it's unbearable at times!

 

[micromass]

If you want to chat, then I could explain you the basics and the installing procedure quite easily! It's very awkward to use at first, but you get used to it quickly. PM me if you want. (This goes for everybody reading this message at any time).

 

[JorisL]

Another recommendation is that when you're running into problems you can simply google it.
For example for changing the margins I would search "Latex change margins"

You'll often see stackexchange in the results. Go for those results, they're usually quite well written.

 

[micromass]

Another recommendation is that when you're running into problems you can simply google it.
For example for changing the margins I would search "Latex change margins"

You'll often see stackexchange in the results. Go for those results, they're usually quite well written.

Haha, I'm seen a by a lot of people as somebody who knows a lot about LaTeX and who can answer all questions they ask. Truth is though, that I just google every question they ask. I'm not going to tell them that obviously