LaTeX facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
LaTeX

The LaTeX Project logo
Original author(s)	Leslie Lamport
Initial release	1984; 41 years ago (1984)
Stable release	November 2023 LaTeX release  / Error: first parameter is missing. ()
Type	Typesetting
License	LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL)

LaTeX (pronounced LAH-tek or LAY-tek) is a special computer system used to create documents. Think of it as a powerful tool for writing books, articles, and reports, especially those with lots of math or complex layouts.

Unlike regular word processors like Microsoft Word, where you see exactly what you get as you type (WYSIWYG), LaTeX works differently. You write your document using special commands, called markup. These commands tell LaTeX what each part of your document is (like a title, a heading, or a paragraph), rather than exactly how it should look. LaTeX then takes these commands and arranges everything perfectly for you.

This system is very popular in schools and universities. Scientists, engineers, and mathematicians use LaTeX to write papers because it's great at handling complicated math formulas. It's also used for documents with different languages, like Arabic or Greek. LaTeX uses a program called TeX to do all the fancy arranging and printing.

LaTeX can be used on its own to make documents. It can also be part of a bigger process to change documents from one format to another, like turning a special XML file into a PDF. It helps with many tasks automatically, such as numbering pages, creating tables of contents, adding pictures, and making lists of references.

Originally, LaTeX was made for people who work with math and computers. But soon, many other scholars started using it. They found it very helpful for documents that needed complex math or non-Latin alphabets, like Arabic or Chinese.

LaTeX makes it easier to use TeX. TeX handles the exact look of the document, while LaTeX helps you focus on the content. LaTeX is a collection of special TeX commands and a program to use them. It gives writers ready-made commands for things like chapter titles, footnotes, and bibliographies.

Leslie Lamport created LaTeX in the early 1980s. The version used today is called LaTeX2e, which first came out in 1994. LaTeX is free software, meaning you can use and share it freely under a special license called the LaTeX Project Public License.

How LaTeX Started

LaTeX was created by Leslie Lamport in the early 1980s. At the time, he was working at Stanford Research Institute. He needed to write some special commands for TeX for his own work. He realized that with a little more effort, he could make these commands useful for everyone.

A book editor named Peter Gordon convinced Leslie to write a manual for LaTeX. Leslie wasn't sure if anyone would buy it, but the manual came out in 1986 and sold hundreds of thousands of copies! Meanwhile, Leslie released different versions of his LaTeX commands in 1984 and 1985.

In 1989, Leslie Lamport handed over the job of maintaining and developing LaTeX to Frank Mittelbach. Frank, along with Chris Rowley and Rainer Schöpf, formed the LaTeX3 team. In 1994, they released LaTeX2e, which is the version still used today.

How LaTeX Works

LaTeX is designed to help you focus on what you're writing, not how it looks. This is called "separating presentation from content." When you write a LaTeX document, you tell the system the logical parts of your text. For example, you mark something as a chapter, a section, a table, or a figure. LaTeX then takes care of making these parts look good and organized. This is similar to how you might use "styles" in a word processor or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for web pages.

LaTeX is a markup language that handles how text is arranged and displayed. You can even add new commands and features by creating special packages. These packages help with specific needs, like formatting complex math equations or adding graphics.

To create a document, you first write your text and LaTeX commands in a simple text file, like `document.tex`. You use a text editor for this. Then, you give this file to the TeX program. TeX processes your file and creates an output file, usually a PDF, that you can view or print.

This process of writing, formatting, and previewing is different from WYSIWYG editors. It's more like how computer programmers write code, then "compile" it to see the result. Many modern LaTeX editors make this easy. They let you see the preview right next to your code, and some even update the preview automatically as you type!

Example

Here's a simple example to show you how LaTeX input looks and what the final output becomes:

Input

Output

\documentclass{article} % Starts an article \usepackage{amsmath} % Imports amsmath \title{\LaTeX} % Title \begin{document} % Begins a document \maketitle \LaTeX{} is a document preparation system for the \TeX{} typesetting program. It offers programmable desktop publishing features and extensive facilities for automating most aspects of typesetting and desktop publishing, including numbering and cross-referencing, tables and figures, page layout, bibliographies, and much more. \LaTeX{} was originally written in 1984 by Leslie Lamport and has become the dominant method for using \TeX; few people write in plain \TeX{} anymore. The current version is \LaTeXe. % This is a comment, not shown in final output. % The following shows typesetting power of LaTeX: \begin{align} E_0 &= mc^2 \\ E &= \frac{mc^2}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}} \end{align} \end{document}

In the example above:

• `\documentclass{article}` tells LaTeX you are writing an article.
• `\title{\LaTeX}` sets the title of your document.
• `\begin{document}` and `\end{document}` mark the start and end of your main content.
• `\maketitle` displays the title.
• The lines with `E_0` and `E` are special commands for writing math equations.

Saying and Writing "LaTeX"

The LaTeX wordmark, typeset with LaTeX's \LaTeX macro

The letters 'T', 'E', and 'X' in LaTeX come from the Greek letters tau, epsilon, and chi. This is because the name of TeX comes from the Greek word for 'skill' or 'art'.

The creator of TeX, Donald Knuth, suggests pronouncing TeX as "tekh" (like the "ch" in "loch"). So, LaTeX can be pronounced "LAH-tek" or "LAY-tek". Some people also say "LAY-teks".

When you see LaTeX written in a book or article, it often has a special look: LaTeX. If this special look can't be used, the word is usually written as "LaTeX" with a capital L and capital T.

Related Software

LaTeX is a set of commands for TeX. There are many other command sets for TeX, like Plain TeX and ConTeXt.

When TeX processes a document, it goes through a few steps: commands → TeX → Driver → Output.

• Traditional TeX creates a DVI file, which can then be turned into a PostScript file.
• Newer versions like pdfTeX can directly create PDF files.
• XeTeX and LuaTeX are other versions that work with modern fonts and different languages.

There are also many programs that help you write LaTeX documents. Some are offline and you type all the code. Others are online and show you a preview as you type. You can find many of these in a list of TeX editors.

Sharing and Converting LaTeX Files

LaTeX documents (which usually end with `.tex`) are simple text files. You can open them with any text editor. They don't have hidden formatting codes. This makes them easy to share.

You can also convert LaTeX files into other formats:

• PDF: Most commonly, LaTeX files are turned into PDF documents using tools like pdfLaTeX. This is great for printing or sharing online.
• HTML: Tools like HeVeA and LaTeX2HTML can turn LaTeX documents into HTML5 for viewing on the internet.
• XML: LaTeXML converts LaTeX into various XML formats, including HTML5 with math, and ePub ebooks.
• Other Formats: Pandoc is a very useful tool that can convert LaTeX into many different file types, including HTML5, ePub, Microsoft Word documents (`.docx`), and even MediaWiki markup (like what Wikipedia uses!).

Because LaTeX is so good at math, many tools focus on converting LaTeX math expressions.

• MathJax is a tool that converts LaTeX math into formats that can be shown on web pages.
• KaTeX is another fast tool for showing LaTeX math on the web.

Licensing and Availability

LaTeX is usually given out with plain TeX under a free software license called the LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL). This means you can use it for free. The LPPL has a special rule: if you change a LaTeX file, you must make it clear that it's different from the original. This helps make sure everything works correctly.

Since it's free software, LaTeX can be used on almost all computer operating systems. This includes Unix, BSD (like macOS), Linux, Windows, and many others.

Versions of LaTeX

LaTeX2e is the main version of LaTeX used today. It replaced an older version in 1994. There was a plan for a new version called LaTeX3, which started in the early 1990s. Many of the cool new features planned for LaTeX3 are now being added directly to LaTeX2e, making it better over time.

There are also many different versions of the entire TeX system that you can buy. These might offer extra features or support. Programs like LyX and TeXmacs are visual editors that use LaTeX behind the scenes. They let you see more of what you're doing as you type, but they still rely on LaTeX's powerful formatting.

Many free versions of TeX are also available, supported by a community of users.

See also

In Spanish: LaTeX para niños

• LyX - A program that helps you write LaTeX documents more easily.
• BibTeX – Software used with LaTeX to manage your list of references.
• Formula editor - A tool for writing math equations.
• KaTeX - A fast way to show LaTeX math on web pages.
• MathJax - Another tool for showing LaTeX math on web pages.