LaTeX and big writing projects

Thu Mar 8 18:02:29 EST 2012

Looks like Wikibooks is an excellent resource.

----- Original Message -----
From: Robert cole <rkcole72984 at gmail.com>
To:  speakup at braille.uwo.ca,
Date: Thursday, Mar 1, 2012 08:09:23 PM
Subject: Re: LaTeX and big writing projects

>
>
> Thanks for the replies, Liz and Justin.
> 
> I came across a free LaTeX book [1] at Wikibooks [2]. The book is 
> evidently a featured book there due to its good content and formatting. 
> It is downloadable as a PDF as well as it is readable online. I have not 
> read through it yet, but it looks to be a 295 page book. Here is a brief 
> description of the book from its main Wikibooks page:
> 
> This is a guide to the *LaTeX* markup language. It is intended that this 
> can serve as a useful resource for everyone from new users who wish to 
> learn, to old hands who need a quick reference.
> 
> I am going to search for tutorials as well, and hopefully I can just 
> print them to PDF. My Internet connection, though fast as it is, can be 
> slightly flaky sometimes, so I like to have materials on-hand.
> 
> I plan to possibly start reading this book after I finish the current 
> book which I am reading. I actually have a book which I began writing 
> while I was still using windows (it was a fictional novel), and I may 
> just port it over and redo it using LaTeX. I stopped writing it sometime 
> back in 2004...I hope to pick it up and finish it one day.
> 
> Once again, thanks for the replies.
> 
> Take care, everyone.
> 
> [1] http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX
> [2] http://www.wikibooks.org/
> 
> On 03/01/2012 06:51 PM, Justin Harford wrote:
> > I learned LaTeX back in 2006 by reading on the internet. I also took a semester class in 2007, but I mostly learned from the online tutorials.
> > On 01-03-2012, at 16:12, Liz Hare wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Robert,
> >>
> >> I'm not Jason, but I wrote my dissertation in LaTex 14 years ago. Back then, I had someone read me the print books that had been written on the subject. I'm not sure what resources are out there now, but I bet there is a lot of online documentation. It's also helpful to look at the .tex files for documents others have written that have similar features to those you want.
> >>
> >> It was great. I had way more control of the formatting and tables than I ever could have had with a word processor. I think if you are taking on a project like writing a thesis or a book, it's definitely worthwhile.
> >>
> >> The disappointing part was that once I finished the degree and made it out into the real world (working in the life sciences), I couldn't use it much. Journal articles had to be submitted in Word. I didn't have any coworkers who knew LaTeX and so many documents, like grant applications, had to be in word processing files. If I had the opportunity to work on a large writing project now, I'd have a lot to re-learn, and things have probably also changed a lot since then. But I still use the notation from LaTeX to communicate with sighted people about equations.
> >>
> >> Liz
> >>
> >> Liz Hare PhD
> >> Dog Genetics LLC
> >> doggene at earthlink.net
> >> http://www.doggenetics.com
> >>
> >> On 3/1/2012 6:47 PM, Robert cole wrote:
> >>> Jason,
> >>>
> >>> Sorry to divert this, but I have read about you writing your thesis
> >>> using LaTeX on the Orca list in the past. I was always curious and
> >>> wanted to ask you what resources you used to learn LaTeX. I've been
> >>> working to learn both vi and Emacs, and I think I would rather use LaTeX
> >>> than a GUI word processor for different projects.
> >>>
> >>> As far as the Raspberry Pi goes, I am definitely planning on getting one
> >>> (or more, if possible) when they are offered with cases. It is so
> >>> wonderful to see all of these nice flashy Linux systems coming out.
> >>>
> >>> Although the price is out of range for me right now, I'd like to get my
> >>> hands on a KDE Plasma Active powered Spark tablet [1] one of these days.
> >>> this looks like a very promising device, especially as KDE is seeming to
> >>> become more accessible thanks to QT-AT-SPI, Orca, and all of the other
> >>> projects which are being developed. This is definitely getting exciting!
> >>>
> >>> Take care, and my apologies for my diversion from the original topic.
> >>>
> >>> [1] http://makeplaylive.com/
> >>>
> >>> On 03/01/2012 03:17 PM, Jason White wrote:
> >>>> Littlefield, Tyler<speakup at braille.uwo.ca>  wrote:
> >>>>> emacs. I love it, especially with emacspeak.
> >>>> And to be more specific, AucTeX mode for anything complicated and
> >>>> Org-mode for
> >>>> notes and other simple documents.
> >>>>
> >>>> I wrote my thesis in Emacs, with BRLTTY operating the braille display and
> >>>> emacspeak for speech output, and, of course, Git for revision control
> >>>> of the
> >>>> files. TeX gives better typeset output, reputedly, than popular word
> >>>> processors and you can use a good text editor such as Emacs for input.
> >>>> I've
> >>>> been using LaTeX instead of a word processor since 1998, so there was
> >>>> no doubt
> >>>> as to what tool to use when it came to writing my thesis.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
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> >>>> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
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