David F. Griffiths is a Reader in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Dundee.
Higham, Desmond J. : The University of Strathclyde
Desmond J. Higham is a Reader in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Strathclyde.
Review
"An excellent introduction for new graduate students and others who are about to write their first mathematical
paper."
-- Charles Van Loan, Cornell University
"Learning LATEX, by David J. Griffiths and Desmond J. Higham, is an excellent, easy-to-read introduction to
LATEX, the popular typesetting system used extensively in the mathematical sciences. Although this primer is brief,
it covers the essentials of this text processing system remarkably clearly and with far more humour than one normally
encounters in computer documentation. I strongly recommend it to anyone intending to learn LATEX. "
--Ken Jackson, University of Toronto
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Web Site, September, 2000
Preface
In this book you will find a brief introduction to the LATEX system for typesetting documents. LATEX , usually
pronounced "lay-teck", is widely used throughout the sciences and is available, free of charge, for almost
any computer. We describe version LATEX 2e, usually pronounced "lay-teck two-ee", which has superseded
the older version, commonly referred to as LATEX 2.09.
Because of its popularity, every year a new batch of students and researchers want to pick up the rudiments of
LATEX. Although many books about LATEX have been written, we feel that there is a niche for a short, lively introduction
that covers the essential material while avoiding unnecessary detail. (In practice, most LATEX users get by with
a small vocabulary of commands.
This book is aimed squarely at LATEX beginners who wish to learn the basics with a minumum of fuss. We see our
target audience falling into two main groups: students faced with the prospect of producing a report or thesis
for the first time, and more experienced users of older typesetting systems like troff who have long planned to
learn LATEX. Various incarnations of this book have been used in undergraduate and postgraduate classes at the
University of Dundee, and we have found the treatment to be suitable for a short course on mathematical typsetting
with LATEX (typically two hours of lectures and three hours of supevised computer laboratories).
We firmly believe that the best way to teach LATEX is by example. Hence, a large part of the book consists of "before
and after" illustrations showing the effect of LATEX commands.
The book is organized as follows. Chapter 1 lists possible motivations for learning LATEX, introduces the key high-level
concepts, and points to other resources that are available.
Chapter 2 deals with common low-level formatting commands and Chapter 3 covers mathematical typesetting. Essential
high-level commands are introduced in Chapter 4, which also gives tips on troubleshooting. In Chapter 5, more advanced
isues are treated, including the use of packages.
Appendix A outlines how LATEX's current version, LATEX 2e, differs from the older version, LATEX 2.09. Examples
of complete LATEX documents are provided in Appendix B and Appendix c, and the production of slides is treated
in Appendix D. Finally, Appendix E lists some LATEX-related Internet sites.
This book was prepared when both the authors were at the University of Dundee. We thank the UNIX adminstrators
Nick Dawes, Colin Macleod, and Brian Russell for their technical support. David Carlisle, Penny Davies, and Larry
Shampine commented on an almost-final version of the book, and numerous students provided feedback on the material.
Nick Higham gae expert advice on many of the issues that we faced and scrutinized several versions of the manuscript
(on the implicit understanding that we would refer to [4]).
Finally, we acknowledge the efforts of all those who have helped make LATEX such a valuable tool for the scientific
community, especially Donald Knuth [5], Leslie Lamport [6], and the team members involved in the LATEX3 Project.
David F. Griffiths
Desmond J. Higham
Summary
Here is a short, well-written book that covers the materials essential for learning LATEX without any unnecessary
detail. It includes incisive examples that teach LATEX in a powerful yet abbreviated fashion. This is the handbook
to have if you don't want to wade through extraneous material. This manual includes the following crucial features:
numerous examples of widely used mathematical expressions
complete documents illustrating the creation of articles, reports, and overhead projector slides
troubleshooting tips to help you pinpoint an error
details of how to set up a bibliography and an index
information about LATEX resources available on the Internet.
Why do you need to learn LATEX? LATEX has become an extremely popular typesetting system and is widely used
throughout the sciences. As a student you may need to typeset reports and theses in LATEX (particularly if you
are a graduate student in any mathematics or computer science discipline). Or you may be someone who had planned
to "eventually" get around to leering LATEX, but you are still using older systems and methods of typesetting.
Procrastinate no more!
The authors have elected to cover LATEX 2e, the latest standard version at the time of publication. The old
and new versions are very similar and it is clear that the LATEX 2e will soon dominate. An appendix discusses the
differences between 2e and the older version 2.09.
Table of Contents
Preamble
Should You Be Reading This Book?
Motivation
Running LATEX
Resources
Basic LATEX
Sample Document and Key Concepts
Type Style
Environments
Lists
Centering
Tables
Verbatim
Vertical and Horizontal Spacing
Typesetting Mathematics
Examples
Equation Environments
Fonts, Hats, and Underlining
Braces
Arrays and Matrices
Customized Commands
Theorem-like Environments
Math Miscellany
Math Styles
Bold Math
Symbols for Number Sets
Binomial Coefficient
Futher Essential LATEX
Document Classes and the Overall Structure
Titles for Documents
Sectioning Commands
Miscellaneous Extras
Spacing
Accented Characters
Dashes and Hyphens
Quotation Marks
Troubleshooting
Pinpointing the Error
Common Errors
Warning Messages
More About LATEX
Packages Inputting Files
Inputting Pictures
Making a Bibliography
Making an Index
Great Moments in LATEX History
Old LATEX Versus LATEX 2e
A Sample Aricle
A Sample Report
Slides
Internet Resources
