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Introduction to scientific working

Writing scientific document

Writing a scientific document can be done with several tools. From simple text pages written in a text processor like Microsoft Word, Libreoffice Writer or Google Docs to specialized tools.

Which tool to use depends often on the branch of science an author and research can be seen as part of.

Where in humanitie-science like psycology, literature, philosophy and others it is more common to write a scientific document in a word processor. In nature sciences like physics, informatics, mechanics it is more common to use technical systems like LaTeX to write documents.

The need for specialized tools in nature sciences is rooted in the needs to write formulas, tables, citations, graphs, data includes and other material without the requirement of the user to specify the visual style every time.

And to be able to use the same written content in different documents without reapplying a changed visual style.

What is LaTeX?

LaTeX is an extension to the TeX document preparation system. It uses plain-text files with annotated passages in it and a processor.

It is also further extensible with packages to draw circuits, graphs and other types needed in books or scientific documents.

How to write a document with LaTeX

A document written in LaTeX is starting with the definition of type of document. The documentclass initializes defaults for styles and structure marker. It can define structure of a title page, page numbers, head lines, foot notes and much more.

These styles are consistently applied to the complete content of the document without the need of the author to take care of it.

Example:

    \documentclass{article}
    \usepackage{amsmath}
    \title{\LaTeX}

    \begin{document}
      \maketitle
      \LaTeX{} is a document preparation system for
      the \TeX{} typesetting program. It offers
      programmable desktop publishing features and
      extensive facilities for automating most
      aspects of typesetting and desktop publishing,
      including numbering and  cross-referencing,
      tables and figures, page layout,
      bibliographies, and much more. \LaTeX{} was
      originally written in 1984 by Leslie Lamport
      and has become the  dominant method for using
      \TeX; few people write in plain \TeX{} anymore.
      The current version is \LaTeXe.

      % This is a comment, not shown in final output.

      % The following shows typesetting  power of LaTeX:
      \begin{align}
        E_0 &= mc^2 \\
        E &= \frac{mc^2}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}}
      \end{align} 
    \end{document}

How to use LaTeX on ...?

The most known and complete distribution/collection of tools and packages for LaTeX is MiKTeX, it is available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux.

There are also some graphical user interface tools: (this is a small list and not to be considered comprehensive or a recommendation list)

And of course LaTeX is able to be used on a command line.

(My favorite: NeoVim with plugins: ncm2, ale [with latex linter], vimtex. But I do nearly everything in vim 😉 )

From LaTeX to PDF

LaTeX uses a text-processor or compiler to convert the plain text according to rules into several output formats (some examples):

  • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
  • PostScript
  • RTF (Rich Text Format)
  • DVI (Device Independent Format)
  • PDF (Portable Document Format)

Most distributions of LaTeX include tools to convert the plain text to a corresponding output format. MiKTeX supplies:

  • latex TEXFILE.tex ➞ Converts to DVI
  • pdflatex TEXFILE.tex ➞ Converts to PDF
  • dvips DVI FILE ➞ Convert DVI file to PostScript file
  • dvipdfmx DVI FILE ➞ Convert DVI file to PDF
  • ps2pdf PS FILE ➞ Convert PostScript file to PDF

Additionally, when the bibliograhy system is used, the bibtex command has to run in between to LaTeX compiler runs. This makes it sure that the references are correct and all listed in the literature section.

Additional Tools and Workflow

Most GUI tools provide a way to do the multiple run of the correct commands. They use either the compiler commands directly or one of two tools that do the workflow:

Next:

LaTeX Document Classes