LaTeX

I mentioned this previously as something that I have on my computer, as well as something that I used to type up my calculus problem sets. It is essentially typesetting software that allows you to focus on the content instead of worrying about the formatting. For my own purposes I did not exactly find that statement to be true, but you do hear it in various websites and books about . What I found is that once I settled on a format that worked, I much preferred the look of the mathematics that was produced.

For instance, many math teachers I know use MathType to put equations into their Word documents. I found that I could do that as well in OpenOffice, but I started using the OpenOffice math editor because MathType did not integrate as well with that suite. From there it was a small step to because I was starting to get used to typesetting the math in OpenOffice. I had never heard of until a couple years ago when we hired a new teacher who really wanted to be a mathematician and not a teacher. She was very excited about it, and she kept pushing us to look at it. I was not ready at the time and she left to pursue her Ph.D. in mathematics after only one year at our school, but last summer I decided it was time to learn, and I made the decision, somewhat stupidly in retrospect, to type up my Calculus problems using it. The learning curve was steep in the beginning, but I was committed and eventually it got easier. And actually, it was not so stupid. I learned and now my problems are written with it rather than having to transfer them from MS Word or OpenOffice.

It is worth seeing some comparisons. The statements on the left were made using MathType and those on the right were created with .

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I really like the look of the math on the right. Of course, one drawback is that to produce the first MathType expression on the left all I need to do is open a window which allows me to create the expression on the left in a WYSIWYG format. To produce the corresponding statement in on the right I typed in $\displaystyle\int_{0}^{3} x^{2}\cos{x} \, dx$. Not as intuitive, but like any language, once you know the vocabulary and the syntax it is not that difficult. Most of the commands start with the symbol ‘\’ and are relatively easy to learn after awhile. Arguments are generally put inside the { } braces.

I really am just scratching the surface at the moment, I know. I can insert graphics, make tables, and type text and mathematics. I have yet to learn how to create graphics or a host of other things that can be done with , but I am enjoying learning it. If you are interested, the following resources might be helpful:

1. MikTeX: There are many different packages for using on all of the different systems out there. This is the one I use on my Windows Vista machine. It installs all of the commonly used packages, and it even has a handy .pdf document with clickable links for each step of the process. If you are not interested in installing by hand, so to speak, and you have Windows, then this installation is for you.
2. A Short Intro to LaTeX: This is few webpages written by a guy at UC Irvine for starting the process. Nice intro if you want to get a feel for how it works.
3. Art of Problem Solving Wiki: First of all, if you are a middle or high school math teacher and you have not heard about this site yet, go there immediately. It is a vibrant community of teachers and students all talking about solving problems. Amazing. They even have their own textbooks – my school uses their Intro to Algebra and Intro to Geometry books for some classes. But I digress. They also have a nice short intro to . This was my first intro and whetted my appetite for more.
4. Getting Started with LaTeX: This is a little more detailed site neatly organized by category and topic. Nice place to go for more detailed answers.
5. University of Cambridge: The Dept. of Engineering site has a nice collection of links for a wide variety of topics. This site is worth going to once you start using it and need to find how to do specific things.
6. Harvard University: Their math department has an introduction and collection of links here. I have not used this one as much, but hey, it’s Harvard – it must be pretty good!
7. LaTeX Project: A site for all news about , including the long promised third generation. It has links for finding different packages of the software.
8. Books: There are two books that I have found very helpful in my odyssey to learn this. The first is A Guide to by Kopka & Daly. The second is Math Into by Gratzer. Both of the editions I have are the third, but I think that the fourth may be available in one or both. For those who still like to feel a reference book in their hands, I highly recommend both of these. Without them I would never have completed typing up my Calculus problems.

I now type up many of my assignments and nearly all my tests using and you can find different packages around the web for different situations. The package for tests was one such package. Incidentally, the whole reason for my post today was because I found out that WordPress accommodates so I could not wait to try it out.

Is it for everyone? Definitely not. But if you are like me, and you like to peel back the layers of what your computer is doing, and you have a slightly (or more!) anal retentive personality when it comes to how the math you type looks, then I recommend taking a look.