posted
It's a problem set for Probability & Statistics I. Our professor requires us to type up homework, and Microsoft Equation Editor just takes forever. Now I can cross off "learn LaTeX for grad school" off my list.
I feel like such a little math dork. Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I learned LaTeX and vi at the same time. While writing two math papers. Haven't really done any TeXing to speak of since I graduated, though.
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jan 1999
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posted
I've never heard of either of these, but I could sure use something that makes typing equations and such easier. Which one is better to start with?
Posts: 1401 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Google "LaTeX" and click on the first link that comes up. Click on "How to get it" on the left, and then follow the instructions. It'll take awhile to download then extract everything. Follow the setup guidelines in the accompying PDF - there are several add-ons that you'll probably want.
I'd then suggest reading through the first four chapters of "The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX" which can also be found by googling. It helps to have knowledge of a programming language to use LaTeX, but it's not necessary.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
It's not a programming language - just a type-setter - but I think it's useful to be familar with the type of things that go on in programming languages, like commenting out sections of text, for instance.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
One of my favorite uses of LaTeX is programming in Literate Haskell -- the resulting document is compilable with Haskell to be the program or with LaTeX to be the documentation for the program.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Ooh, nice. One of these days I'll learn Haskell.
quote:I actually meant LaTeX and vi.
So, vi (actually vim, as I mentioned) is just the text editor I use. You can use vi to write LaTeX, but you can write LaTeX without using vi and you can use vi to write other stuff. It was just an incidental mention.
(Yes, "mention" is a noun. Deal. )
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jan 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Jhai: It's not a programming language - just a type-setter - but I think it's useful to be familar with the type of things that go on in programming languages, like commenting out sections of text, for instance.
If it is Turing equivalent, then it is, actually, a programming language. Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I heart LaTeX. I used it all summer, and it's hard going back to Word - I keep thinking, "What? Why can't I use search-and-replace? Why can't I just define a tag for this word instead of typing it over and over? Grrrr."
(Of course, you don't really need LaTeX to write English papers... but I still really miss those features. )
quote:I keep thinking, "What? Why can't I use search-and-replace? Why can't I just define a tag for this word instead of typing it over and over? Grrrr."
Um.... You know you can do both those things in Word, right?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
You know, I would have been seriously annoyed if any of my undergrad professors had required typed homework. Mind that I'm refering only to math classes, lab reports and other papers are much more reasonable to type. (More importantly, typing doesn't add a step to doing the work, like it does in a math class.)
If his concern is legibility, just marking off for things he can't read would solve that problem pretty quickly.
Posts: 1621 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
My advisor in college would agree with you: The Best Homework Ever. Never met the guy [edit: Curtis, that is] -- he was a few years before my time. Incidentally, I just found his website. There are lotsofcoolthings there. Whoa.
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jan 1999
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