LaTeX - Wikiversity
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LaTeX
is a
markup language
(as is
MediaWiki
!) for producing mathematical texts of the highest quality. Its use is widespread in the mathematics world. It is built on plain
TeX
Donald Knuth
. You can embed LaTeX markups in MediaWiki by the

tags, e.g.
e = m c^2
is rendered as
{\displaystyle e=mc^{2}}
Readings
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Wikipedia: LaTeX
Wikibooks: LaTeX
Installation
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If you are using Linux, you probably have it already! Just type "latex".
If you are using Windows, the simplest thing to do is to open
Cygwin
(the linux emulator) and type "latex". If you haven't installed Cygwin, do it! You will often find it useful. The installation may take less than an hour but it is usually straightforward.
Note that it is now fairly simple to install a
linux dual boot
, for example, with
wubi
. All you need is a number of Gigabytes in a refactored hard-drive. You can delete it like a regular windows directory whenever you don't want it any more.
Step by step guide for beginners
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Create a file with .tex suffix, e.g.
helloworld.tex
(see
/helloworld.tex
).
Go to your
linux/cygwin/
whatever shell, go to the directory of your file
helloworld.tex
and type
latex helloworld
.dvi
file will be created - you may view it directly if you have the right tools.
If not, type
dvips helloworld
or type
dvipdf helloworld
to convert it to a
postscript
or
PDF
file.
Use
Ghostview
to view the .ps file, or the
Adobe Acrobat Reader
to view the .pdf file.
Choosing an editor
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A good editing environment helps! A useful and free option is the
LaTeX editor (LEd)
see their home page
).
LaTeX extension
is also available for
Open Office
Or for a quick and easy solution, try
Roger's Online Equation Editor
Lessons
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helloworld.tex
Including graphics
Inserting diagrams
Two-lined-subscripts
Serial letter
Obtain PDF from Latex
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pdflatex hello.tex
Use Latex Source in Wikiversity
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You can use latex sources also in Wikiversity. In general you will create a PDF file from your latex source.
pdflatex
converts the tex-file
hello.tex
in
hello.pdf
. You may need sometimes a different output format. If you want to convert the tex-file into a Wiki markdown output for Wikiversity you can use
PanDoc
Pandoc
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This is useful if you want to use parts from source text in LaTeX also in a Wikiversity learning resource (e.g. for a mathematical text for a lecture). Copy the source in
PanDoc
and
select
"Latex" as input format
and
select
"MediaWiki" as an output format
When press
"convert"
you can use the Wiki source code in your learning resource.
Expand Newcommands
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Sometimes it is necessary to
expand latex macros
because the macros in your source are not available in Wikiversity.
With the BracketHandler
closingbracket.js
a newcommand replacement into the source text is possible.
Use
Newcommand Expander
as an
AppLSAC
for replacing the newcommand (
GitHub Repository closingbracket.js
).
External Links
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tex by topic
- an indepth study of TeX
closingbracket.js BracketHandler
- GitHub demo for newcommand replacement with
GitHub-repository 'closingbracket'
References
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If you are new to cygwin, you can find your c-drive by something like
cd /cygdrive/c
Retrieved from "
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