Practice Writing LaTeX - Learn How to Write, Review, Edit

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rude man
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What's the best way to "practice" writing latex text? I'd like to write, revew, edit, write etc. before posting in a forum or in Insight.
Or, can the latex compiler be downloaded?
 

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rude man said:
Or, can the latex compiler be downloaded?

Yes, for example as part of the MikTeX distribution if you're using Windows or MacTeX if you're using a Mac. These will get you the LaTeX compilers on your computer along with a large collection of useful supporting packages.

But just to check you know what it is (it's not obvious from your post): LaTeX is a programming/markup language and family of programs for writing structured documents in PDF and some other formats. It deals with a lot more than only typesetting equations. This forum does not support all of LaTeX (that would not make much sense) but only a subset of the LaTeX math-related commands for including equations in posts and insights.
 
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wle said:
Yes, for example as part of the MikTeX distribution if you're using Windows or MacTeX if you're using a Mac. These will get you the LaTeX compilers on your computer along with a large collection of useful supporting packages.

But just to check you know what it is (it's not obvious from your post): LaTeX is a programming/markup language and family of programs for writing structured documents in PDF and some other formats. It deals with a lot more than only typesetting equations. This forum does not support all of LaTeX (that would not make much sense) but only a subset of the LaTeX math-related commands for including equations in posts and insights.
Thanks @wle for your help.
I found out later that the arachnoid compiler does not accep ## as a delimiter so I didn't use it. And as I said already the codecox did not allow longer text, apparently.

I do have an excellent set of latex instructions for PF use at forums -> help which worked fine. But to de-compile I went to a blank "reply" page in an arbitrary thread. This is obviously not ideal so I'm still looking for a PF-oriented latex compiler and de-compiler.
 
rude man said:
But to de-compile I went to a blank "reply" page in an arbitrary thread. This is obviously not ideal
Why not? Use the "Preview..." button to see what your LaTeX code produces. Nobody else will see what you're doing if you don't hit the "Post Reply" button.
 
jtbell said:
Why not? Use the "Preview..." button to see what your LaTeX code produces. Nobody else will see what you're doing if you don't hit the "Post Reply" button.
No argument! It works very well IF you don't hit the "post reply" button by mistake, which I did once! o:)
 
You can write a draft Insight, which is private until you publish it.

For writing in LaTeX in general, you can try something like https://www.overleaf.com
(although I don't think it has menus for symbols like the codecogs or arachnoid URLs posted by @jedishrfu ).
 
robphy said:
You can write a draft Insight, which is private until you publish it.
Yes I had been doing that but I think someone (Greg?) reads all the drafts which are kept on file, so I started feeling uneasy about that. I think the best sol'n is what I've been doing, just taking a blank "reply" space to any old post, then making sure I don't post! Thanks for your help.
 
robphy said:
You can write a draft Insight, which is private until you publish it.
.
BTW if you do it that way do you get to read the de-complied ("real") text? I don't remember.
 
rude man said:
BTW if you do it that way do you get to read the de-complied ("real") text? I don't remember.
When composing an Insight, you can read the PRE-compiled "real mark-up" text.
You have to Preview it to view the LaTeX-compiled version.

(btw,... DE-compiled implies "attempting to recover the original (or approximate) markup" from the compiled-version alone [no access to the original markup], which is not easy)
 
rude man said:
Yes I had been doing that but I think someone (Greg?) reads all the drafts which are kept on file, so I started feeling uneasy about that. I think the best sol'n is what I've been doing, just taking a blank "reply" space to any old post, then making sure I don't post! Thanks for your help.

I would be surprised someone read all such drafts.

If you are concerned about that, compose and save drafts on https://www.overleaf.com .
 
robphy said:
When composing an Insight, you can read the PRE-compiled "real mark-up" text.
You have to Preview it to view the LaTeX-compiled version.
Of course. I remeber now. Thaks.
 
I had a draft (a google drawing with embed) which I saved and subsequently accessed. After 3 weeks or so it disappeared !
Are they wiped automatically after a set period?
 

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