+++
date = "2021-07-30T17:12:40+00:00"
publishdate = "2023-12-29T07:08:55+00:00"
title = "Typesetting in LaTeX"
slug = "typesetting-in-latex"
author = "Thedro"
tags = ["latex"]
type = "posts"
summary =  "LaTeX is a free typesetting system that allows you to create articles, books, white papers and other technical documents with speed."
draft =  ""
syntax =  "1"
toc =  ""
updated =  "2021-07-31"
+++

{{< image source="/images/typesetting-in-latex.png" title="A LaTeX document." >}}
A LaTeX document. {{< /image >}}

[LaTeX](https://www.latex-project.org/) pronounced (`/la:tech/`), is a free
typesetting system that allows you to efficiently create articles, books, white
papers and other technical documents. Most scientific documents and white papers
are built using this typesetting system. `LaTeX` is the opposite of a
{{< sidenote mark="`WYSIWYG`" set="left" >}} Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer,
and other similar programs. {{< /sidenote >}}
[(What You See Is What You Get)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYG) editor.
The key difference is that format is _separated_ from content. Documents are
pre--formatted to a specification that the content follows. `LaTeX` is a markup
language similar to [`HTML`](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML) (Hyper Text
Markup Language).

The separation of format and content allows for the automation of many parts of
a typical document. The table of contents, bibliography, page numbers,
footnotes, and references are all auto generated. The document, for lack of
better term, is "alive" --- a living document that is programmable.

Typesetting isn't a very useful skill in general, at least in my experience,
because most people prefer `WYSIWYG` editors, but it's useful in large groups if
only to eliminate arguments over formatting, positioning, and other
{{< sidenote mark="minor" set="right" >}} The art of the trivial argument is
sometimes called
[bike--shedding.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality)
{{< /sidenote >}} details. Let's take a look at my preferred typesetting
programs and workflow.

## Typesetting Workflow

My preferred workflow for typesetting is a combination of the programs
[TexWorks](http://www.tug.org/texworks/) and [ViM.](https://www.vim.org/) The
`LaTeX` editor `texworks` acts as a heads up display and gives a general
overview of what's going on. The magnifying glass, jump to source, and jump to
`PDF` (Portable Document Format) are pretty much the killer features of
`texworks`. Honestly it's the only reason `texworks` is in my toolkit.

{{< video poster="/images/typesetting-in-latex-workflow.png" source="/videos/typesetting-in-latex-workflow.mp4" options="loop muted" width="1600" >}}
LaTeX Workflow {{< /video >}}

The editing action happens in `vim` while `texworks` polls and updates its
graphical display for both the `tex` source file and `pdf`, even when external
programs are mutating them. Editing can happen really fast as it's only
necessary to keep the current line number inside my head when inter-operating
between each program.

If the sense of position is lost, then the line number becomes a guide, and a
jump from `tex` to `pdf` or from `pdf` to `tex` puts me back into the flow. The
desktop windows are [tiled](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiling_window_manager)
to maximize use of the viewport and the recompilation commands below are
executed on every manual save in `vim`.

```shell
#!/bin/sh -eu

if ! {
      pdflatex -halt-on-error "$1" \
      || xelatex -halt-on-error "$1";
     }
then cat
fi
```

## Conclusion

That's all there is to my typesetting work flow. Programs in general tend to be
either frustrating or slow, but `texworks` and `vim` happen to be one of those
nice and rare experiences. [Gummi](https://gummi.app/) is also another
interesting `LaTeX` editor that is used mainly for quick edits.