What is LaTeX?
LaTeX is a markup language used for typesetting. It excels at setting texts with unusual characters, like mathematics or phonetics. I take the author’s manuscript, insert the proper codes for formulas, special characters, the book’s structural elements (e.g., chapters, section heads), and process the file with a custom stylesheet that sets the book in the correct format. I can program custom stylesheets to use any Type 1 font and conform to virtually any specification. So, LaTeX is my tool of choice for typesetting mathematics books. It’s not the best tool for all jobs, however (see the next question). If you want to learn more about LaTeX, see our introductory document, What You Should Know About TeX and LaTeX (requires Adobe Reader). Or, search the Internet for latex leslie lamport or tex donald knuth. (Guaranteed to keep you busy for a while.
