Latex

This part of the course is about LaTeX, a set of tools for communication. The most famous feature of LaTeX is its excellent system for typesetting mathematics. For example, you can create the formula

using the following LaTeX code:

$(z-1)! = \int_0^\infty \exp(-t) \cdot t^{z-1} \textrm{d}t$

We’ll be explaining the different parts of the LaTeX language as the course proceeds. But, you can see the general idea in this example: there is some literal text like (z-1)!, some special symbols like \int, and some other things like $$, \ and {} that help specify unambiguously exactly what we want LaTeX to do.

There is even a command \LaTeX which produces the official logo of the language: LATEX. But, we will usually be less formal and just write LaTeX.

LaTeX is not limited to mathematics. It offers many features that would be useful even if you are writing a cookbook or a history book:

• a set of tools for automatically creating citations (\cite) and bibliographies (bibtex),
• commands to create a \section or to refer back to parts of your document (\ref),
• packages that allow you to create posters or PowerPoint-style presentations, and
• the ability to define your own custom commands!

While there are thousands of additional features and add-ons to the language, the goal in Math 600 is to explain just the fundamentals. By the end of the course you will be able to write a homework assignment or a set of solutions, and you will see how to include external graphics in the document. More importantly, you will be comfortable enough with the basic system that you will be able to understand online resources that document any additional packages you want to explore.