A Quick Guide To Latex
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A quick guide to L
A
T
E
X
What is L
A
T
E
X?
L
A
T
E
X(usually pronounced “LAY teck,” sometimes “LAH
teck,” and never “LAY tex”) is a mathematics typesetting
program that is the standard for most professional
mathematics writing. It is based on the typesetting program
T
E
X created by Donald Knuth of Stanford University (his first
version appeared in 1978). Leslie Lamport was responsible for
creating L
A
T
E
X a more user friendly version of T
E
X. A team of
L
A
T
E
X programmers created the current version, L
A
T
E
X 2ε.
Math vs. text vs. functions
In properly typeset mathematics variables appear in italics
(e.g., f(x) = x2+ 2x−3). The exception to this rule is
predefined functions (e.g., sin(x)). Thus it is important to
always treat text, variables, and functions correctly. See the
difference between xand x, -1 and −1, and sin(x) and sin(x).
There are two ways to present a mathematical expression—
inline or as an equation.
Inline mathematical expressions
Inline expressions occur in the middle of a sentence. To
produce an inline expression, place the math expression
between dollar signs ($). For example, typing
$90^{\circ}$ is the same as $\frac{\pi}{2}$ radians
yields 90◦is the same as π
2radians.
Equations
Equations are mathematical expressions that are given their
own line and are centered on the page. These are usually used
for important equations that deserve to be showcased on their
own line or for large equations that cannot fit inline. To
produce an inline expression, place the mathematical
expression between the symbols \[ and \]. Typing
\[x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}\] yields
x=−b±√b2−4ac
2a.
Displaystyle
To get full-sized inline mathematical expressions use
\displaystyle. Use this sparingly. Typing
I want this $\displaystyle \sum_{n=1}^{\infty}
\frac{1}{n}$, not this $\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}
\frac{1}{n}$. yields
I want this
∞
X
n=1
1
n, not this P∞
n=1
1
n.
Images
You can put images (pdf, png, jpg, or gif) in your document.
They need to be in the same location as your .tex file when
you compile the document. Omit [width=.5in] if you want
the image to be full-sized.
\begin{figure}[ht]
\includegraphics[width=.5in]{imagename.jpg}
\caption{The (optional) caption goes here.}
\end{figure}
Text decorations
Your text can be italics (\textit{italics}), boldface
(\textbf{boldface}), or underlined
(\underline{underlined}).
Your math can contain boldface, R(\mathbf{R}), or
blackboard bold, R(\mathbb{R}). You may want to used these
to express the sets of real numbers (Ror R), integers (Zor Z),
rational numbers (Qor Q), and natural numbers (Nor N).
To have text appear in a math expression use \text.
(0,1]=\{x\in\mathbb{R}:x>0\text{ and }x\le 1\} yields
(0,1] = {x∈R:x > 0 and x≤1}. (Without the \text
command it treats “and” as three variables:
(0,1] = {x∈R:x > 0andx ≤1}.)
Spaces and new lines
L
A
T
E
X ignores extra spaces and new lines. For example,
This sentence will look
fine after it is compiled.
This sentence will look fine after it is compiled.
Leave one full empty line between two paragraphs. Place \\ at
the end of a line to create a new line (but not create a new
paragraph).
This
compiles
like\\
this.
This compiles
like
this.
Use \noindent to prevent a paragraph from indenting.
Comments
Use %to create a comment. Nothing on the line after the %will
be typeset. $f(x)=\sin(x)$ %this is the sine function
yields f(x) = sin(x)
Delimiters
description command output
parentheses (x) (x)
brackets [x] [x]
curly braces \{x\} {x}
To make your delimiters large enough to fit the content, use
them together with \right and \left. For example,
\left\{\sin\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)\right\}_{n}^
{\infty} produces
sin 1
n∞
n
.
Curly braces are non-printing characters that are used to
gather text that has more than one character. Observe the
differences between the four expressions x^2,x^{2},x^2t,
x^{2t} when typeset: x2,x2,x2t,x2t.
Lists
You can produce ordered and unordered lists.
description command output
unordered list
\begin{itemize}
\item
Thing 1
\item
Thing 2
\end{itemize}
•Thing 1
•Thing 2
ordered list
\begin{enumerate}
\item
Thing 1
\item
Thing 2
\end{enumerate}
1. Thing 1
2. Thing 2
Symbols (in math mode)
The basics
description command output
addition ++
subtraction -−
plus or minus \pm ±
multiplication (times) \times ×
multiplication (dot) \cdot ·
division symbol \div ÷
division (slash) //
circle plus \oplus ⊕
circle times \otimes ⊗
equal ==
not equal \ne 6=
less than <<
greater than >>
less than or equal to \le ≤
greater than or equal to \ge ≥
approximately equal to \approx ≈
infinity \infty ∞
dots 1,2,3,\ldots 1,2,3,...
dots 1+2+3+\cdots 1+2+3+···
fraction \frac{a}{b} a
b
square root \sqrt{x} √x
nth root \sqrt[n]{x} n
√x
exponentiation a^b ab
subscript a_b ab
absolute value |x| |x|
natural log \ln(x) ln(x)
logarithms \log_{a}b logab
exponential function e^x=\exp(x) ex= exp(x)
degree \deg(f) deg(f)
Functions
description command output
maps to \to →
composition \circ ◦
piecewise |x|=
|x|=(x x ≥0
−x x < 0
function \begin{cases}
x & x\ge 0\\
-x & x<0
\end{cases}
Greek and Hebrew letters
command output command output
\alpha α\tau τ
\beta β\theta θ
\chi χ\upsilon υ
\delta δ\xi ξ
\epsilon \zeta ζ
\varepsilon ε\Delta ∆
\eta η\Gamma Γ
\gamma γ\Lambda Λ
\iota ι\Omega Ω
\kappa κ\Phi Φ
\lambda λ\Pi Π
\mu µ\Psi Ψ
\nu ν\Sigma Σ
\omega ω\Theta Θ
\phi φ\Upsilon Υ
\varphi ϕ\Xi Ξ
\pi π\aleph ℵ
\psi ψ\beth i
\rho ρ\daleth k
\sigma σ\gimel ג
Set theory
description command output
set brackets \{1,2,3\} {1,2,3}
element of \in ∈
not an element of \not\in 6∈
subset of \subset ⊂
subset of \subseteq ⊆
not a subset of \not\subset 6⊂
contains \supset ⊃
contains \supseteq ⊇
union \cup ∪
intersection \cap ∩
big union \bigcup_{n=1}^{10}A_n
10
[
n=1
An
big intersection \bigcap_{n=1}^{10}A_n
10
\
n=1
An
empty set \emptyset ∅
power set \mathcal{P} P
minimum \min min
maximum \max max
supremum \sup sup
infimum \inf inf
limit superior \limsup lim sup
limit inferior \liminf lim inf
closure \overline{A} A
Calculus
description command output
derivative \frac{df}{dx} df
dx
derivative \f’ f0
partial derivative \frac{\partial f}
{\partial x}
∂f
∂x
integral \int Z
double integral \iint ZZ
triple integral \iiint ZZZ
limits \lim_{x\to \infty} lim
x→∞
summation \sum_{n=1}^{\infty}a_n
∞
X
n=1
an
product \prod_{n=1}^{\infty}a_n
∞
Y
n=1
an
Logic
description command output
not \sim ∼
and \land ∧
or \lor ∨
if...then \to →
if and only if \leftrightarrow ↔
logical equivalence \equiv ≡
therefore \therefore ∴
there exists \exists ∃
for all \forall ∀
implies \Rightarrow ⇒
equivalent \Leftrightarrow ⇔
Linear algebra
description command output
vector \vec{v} ~v
vector \mathbf{v} v
norm ||\vec{v}|| ||~v||
matrix
\left[
\begin{array}{ccc}
1&2&3\\
4 & 5 & 6\\
7&8&0
\end{array}
\right]
123
456
780
determinant
\left|
\begin{array}{ccc}
1&2&3\\
4&5&6\\
7&8&0
\end{array}
\right|
123
456
780
determinant \det(A) det(A)
trace \operatorname{tr}(A) tr(A)
dimension \dim(V) dim(V)
Number theory
description command output
divides ||
does not divide \not | 6 |
div \operatorname{div} div
mod \mod mod
greatest common divisor \gcd gcd
ceiling \lceil x \rceil dxe
floor \lfloor x \rfloor bxc
Geometry and trigonometry
description command output
angle \angle ABC ∠ABC
degree 90^{\circ} 90◦
triangle \triangle ABC 4ABC
segment \overline{AB} AB
sine \sin sin
cosine \cos cos
tangent \tan tan
cotangent \cot cot
secant \sec sec
cosecant \csc csc
inverse sine \arcsin arcsin
inverse cosine \arccos arccos
inverse tangent \arctan arctan
Symbols (in text mode)
The followign symbols do not have to be surrounded by dollar
signs.
description command output
dollar sign \$ $
percent \% %
ampersand \& &
pound \# #
backslash \textbackslash \
left quote marks ‘‘ “
right quote marks ’’ ”
single left quote ‘‘
single right quote ’’
hyphen X-ray X-ray
en-dash pp. 5--15 pp. 5–15
em-dash Yes---or no? Yes—or no?
Resources
Great symbol look-up site: Detexify
L
A
T
E
X Mathematical Symbols
The Comprehensive L
A
T
E
X Symbol List
The Not So Short Introduction to L
A
T
E
X 2ε
TUG: The T
E
X Users Group
CTAN: The Comprehensive T
E
X Archive Network
L
A
T
E
X for the Mac: MacT
E
X
L
A
T
E
X for the PC: T
E
XnicCenter and MiKT
E
X
L
A
T
E
X online: WriteLaTeX.
Dave Richeson, Dickinson College, http://divisbyzero.com/
