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Is Latex Still Worth Learning?

Posted by Cliff on from the Is-TeX-still-king-for-math-typesetting dept.

Bocaj asks: "I have start back to college and have to write a few technical papers. Right now it's mostly physics, but I'm a CS major and there will be many more papers to come. I've tried all of the office suites with little luck in getting them to format complex formulas correctly. I'm trying to learn Latex, but I am wondering if I should. Is Latex still the defacto standard for this kind of stuff? What about SGML or XML? What is everyone else using?"

6 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. Using Latex by dlosey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Haven't you seen The Matrix? Of course latex is still popular!

    Oohh! .. You meant LaTeX?

    1. Re:Using Latex by DickBreath · · Score: 4, Funny

      Lamb skin is more comfortable.

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  2. I'm sorry... by phraktyl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ask Slashdot is reserved for questions regarding legal and dental advice. Please refrain from asking further technical questions that could be construed as News for Nerds, or Stuff that Matters. Thank you.

    Seriously, I've been using LaTeX for papers for a long time, and have yet to find a format that is as easy to use (all you need is a text editor, files are in ASCII, etc.) and that produces professionally typeset output. However, I believe the real question is: does it fit your needs? If so, then it is worth learning.

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  3. Sheep gut by elliotj · · Score: 4, Funny

    Some people will tell you that sheep gut will do the trick, but doctors advise that only latex based products can keep out desease as well as provide effective contraceptive protection. Whichever you chose, remember to use it with a water-based lubricant.

  4. careful what you look for... by cassidyc · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used LaTeX for my university dissertation, and I needed to know how to insert pictures into the document....

    Lets just say that you don`t want to Google for "+latex +pictures"

    Well, maybe you do, I dunno.

    CJC

  5. Re:Say what? by zulux · · Score: 4, Funny


    That's interesting because my colleagues allways say: hey, those letters look really ugly, you must have been using LaTeX.

    I bet your coleagues think "Comic Sans MS*" is pretty darn cool if the think LaTeX looks ugly.

    * Comic Sans MS is is included free with MS Office - because Microsoft Hates You (TM)

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