This post was inspired by Cory Doctorow's post on Writing in the Age of Distraction. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" said Leonardo da Vinci. It seems, most of the software tools available today were designed with an opposite philosophy. This is especially true for word processing tools.
The early writing tools like LaTeX were designed to enable the writer to write without the distractions of presentation. Somewhere down the line, the process of writing got muddled with presentation. Many articles and books have been written emphasizing the need to separate content from presentation. This post is my two cents in support of LaTeX.
Why choose LaTeX over any other writing tool?
I have thoroughly enjoyed learning LaTeX and continue to enjoy everytime I use LaTeX. Although there are many articles that explain the superiority of LaTeX as a typesetting tool, I feel it is my obligation to write yet another article to praise LaTeX just to repay the sheer fun I have using it. If this article arouses your curiosity to try out LaTeX I will deem myself successful.
The reasons off the top of my head for choosing LaTeX are the following:
* Simple & Intuitive.
* Produces GREAT professional output.
* Have to only worry about content while writing and almost never worry about formatting.
* Great to add and remove parts of the work (even if it is a 500 page book) and not worry about formatting.
* Perfect for math and other scientific writing.
* Helpful and knowledgeable user base.
* Its FREE!
If you have used any WYSIWYG word processor to create a document with more than 10 pages, then you will know the pain of re-formatting the entire document if you want to add or remove a paragraph. Well, here is the good news. If you use LaTeX, you DO NOT have to worry about the formatting (almost never), no matter how many paragraphs, images, tables you rearrange, insert or delete. For me, that was the selling point.
Cost
Of course there are a few things that you need to put up with (nothing comes free!) before you become proficient in LaTeX. There is a learning curve that you need to climb. It is nice to know that the learning curve is both compelling and fun. Once you are up the curve, its all rosy and easy.
LaTeX Resources
I don't want to lecture you about LaTeX. You can learn all about it on the CTAN website. I have just given a few things that attracted me to LaTeX as a beginner and fascinate me each time I use it. There is a comprehensive list in the ctan website extolling the virtues of LaTeX and why you should use it. I hope you do.
* The Comprehensive TeX Archive Network is the authoritative collection of materials related to the TeX typesetting system.
* You can install LaTeX on Unix/Linux, Windows and Mac systems.
o TeXNicCenter is a free IDE like environment for writing LaTeX documents in Windows. Combined with proTeXt, it is a complete system to process LaTeX Documents on windows.
o I have seen many Mac users use LyX.
o I don't think *nix users need to be told the many options they have. If you are a *nix user, I am sure you already have a favorite editor and TeX package. I like TexMaker combined with teTeX.
* Good starting reference for beginners: Not so short intro to Latex.
