View source for LaTeX

{{Short description|Typesetting system based on TeX}}
{{Redirect|LATEX|the polymer|Latex|LaTeX formatting on Wikipedia|Help:Displaying a formula|other uses|Latex (disambiguation)}}
{{infobox software
| logo                   = LaTeX project logo bird.svg
| logo caption           = The LaTeX Project logo
| author                 = [[Leslie Lamport]]
| developer              = 
| released               = {{Start date and age|1984|df=yes}}
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|edit|reference|P348}}
| latest release date    = {{start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|P348|P577}}}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date    = <!-- {{Start date and age|202y|mm|dd}} -->
| programming language   = 
| genre                  = [[Typesetting]]
| license                = [[LaTeX Project Public License]] (LPPL)
| website                = {{URL|https://www.latex-project.org}}
}}

'''LaTeX''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɑː|t|ɛ|x}} {{Respell|LAH|tekh}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|e:|t|ɛ|x}} {{Respell|LAY|tekh}}, to rhyme with "blech"<ref>{{Cite web |title=An introduction to LaTeX |url=https://latex-project.org/intro.html |access-date=18 April 2016 |website=LaTeX project |archive-date=31 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031003337/http://www.latex-project.org/intro.html |url-status=live }}</ref>), often stylized as '''{{Stylized LaTeX|latex}}''', is a [[software system]] for [[typesetting]] documents,<ref name="Lamport1986">{{Cite book |last=Lamport |first=Leslie |title=LATEX: a document preparation system |date=1986 |publisher=Addison-Wesley Pub. Co |isbn=0-201-15790-X |oclc=12550262}}</ref> based on the [[TeX]] typesetting system. LaTeX provides a high-level, descriptive markup language to use TeX more easily: TeX handles the document layout, while LaTeX handles the content side for document processing. Because the plain TeX formatting commands are elementary, it provides authors with ready-made commands for formatting and layout requirements such as chapter headings, footnotes, cross-references and bibliographies.

LaTeX was originally written in the early 1980s by [[Leslie Lamport]] at [[SRI International]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leslie Lamport |date=April 23, 2007 |title=The Writings of Leslie Lamport: LaTeX: A Document Preparation System |url=https://research.microsoft.com/users/lamport/pubs/pubs.html#latex |access-date=2007-04-27 |website=Leslie Lamport's Home Page |archive-date=2012-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105060525/http://research.microsoft.com/users/lamport/pubs/pubs.html#latex |url-status=live }}</ref> The current version is LaTeX2e, first released in 1994 and incrementally updated since 2015. This update policy replaced earlier plans for a separate release of LaTeX3, which had been in development since 1989.<ref name="Latex3planning">{{Cite web |title=Quo vadis LaTeX(3) Team — A look back and at the upcoming years |url=https://www.latex-project.org/publications/2020-FMi-TUB-tb128mitt-quovadis.pdf |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=www.latex-project.org |archive-date=2023-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609191151/https://www.latex-project.org/publications/2020-FMi-TUB-tb128mitt-quovadis.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> LaTeX is [[free software]] and is distributed under the [[LaTeX Project Public License|LaTeX Project Public License (LPPL)]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=LaTeX - A document preparation system |url=https://www.latex-project.org/ |access-date=2019-07-20 |website=www.latex-project.org |archive-date=2011-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304190326/http://www.latex-project.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Like TeX, LaTeX started as a writing tool for mathematicians and computer scientists, but from early in its development, it has also been taken up by scholars who needed to write documents that include complex math expressions or non-Latin scripts,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Multilingual typesetting on Overleaf using babel and fontspec |language=en |url=https://www.overleaf.com/learn/latex/Multilingual_typesetting_on_Overleaf_using_babel_and_fontspec |access-date=2022-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Babel: The multilingual framework to localize LaTeX, LuaLaTeX, XeLaTeX |language=en |url=https://latex3.github.io/babel/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |archive-date=2024-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241109203746/https://latex3.github.io/babel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> such as [[Arabic script|Arabic]], [[Devanagari]], and Chinese.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese |url=https://www.overleaf.com/learn/latex/Chinese |access-date=2020-12-30 |website=www.overleaf.com |language=en |archive-date=2020-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204210408/https://www.overleaf.com/learn/latex/Chinese |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History ==

In the early 1980s, Leslie Lamport was working at SRI, where he needed to write TeX macros for his own use. He thought that with a little extra effort, he could make a general package usable by others. Having done so, he released versions of his LaTeX macros in 1984 and 1985. Peter Gordon, an editor at [[Addison-Wesley]], convinced Lamport to write a LaTeX user's manual for publication. Lamport was initially skeptical that anyone would pay money for it,<ref name="Lamport2018">{{ cite web | last = Lamport | first = Leslie | title = My Writings | pages = 48–49 | date = 2024-04-29 | url = http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/lamport/pubs/pubs.pdf | url-status = live | access-date = 2024-06-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240609192724/https://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/lamport/pubs/pubs.pdf | archive-date = 2024-06-09 }}</ref> but it came out in 1986<ref name="Lamport1986"/> and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.<ref name="Lamport2018"/> On 21 August 1989, at a TeX Users Group (TUG) meeting at Stanford, Lamport agreed to turn over maintenance and development of LaTeX to Frank Mittelbach. Mittelbach, along with Chris Rowley and Rainer Schöpf, formed the LaTeX3 team; in 1994, they released LaTeX2e, the current standard version. LaTeX3 has been discontinued as a separate format; since 2018, it has been a programming layer within LaTeX2e.<ref name="Latex3planning"/>

==Typesetting system==
LaTeX attempts to follow the design philosophy of [[Separation of content and presentation|separating presentation from content]], so that authors can focus on the content of what they are writing without attending simultaneously to its visual appearance. In preparing a LaTeX document, the author specifies the logical structure using commands such as ''chapter'', ''section'', ''table'', ''figure'', etc., and lets the LaTeX system handle the formatting and layout of these structures. As a result, it encourages the separation of the layout from the content – while still allowing manual typesetting adjustments whenever needed. This concept is similar to the mechanism by which many [[word processor]]s allow styles to be defined globally for an entire document, or the use of [[Cascading Style Sheets]] in styling HyperText Markup Language ([[HTML]]) documents.

The LaTeX system is a [[markup language]] that handles typesetting and rendering,<ref>The design of LaTeX owes something to earlier markup systems such as [[Scribe (markup language)|Scribe]].</ref> and can be arbitrarily extended by using the underlying [[macro language]] to develop custom macros such as new environments and commands. Such macros are often collected into ''packages,'' which could then be made available to address some specific typesetting needs such as the formatting of complex mathematical expressions or graphics (e.g., the use of the <code>align</code> environment provided by the <code>amsmath</code> package to produce aligned equations).

To create a document in LaTeX, a user first creates a file, such as <code>document.tex</code>, typically using a [[text editor]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Van Dyke |first1=Jackson |title=Getting started with LaTeX and Vim |url=https://web.ma.utexas.edu/users/vandyke/notes/getting_started_latex_vim/getting_started.pdf |access-date=21 February 2024 |archive-date=21 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121121125/https://web.ma.utexas.edu/users/vandyke/notes/getting_started_latex_vim/getting_started.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The user then gives their <code>document.tex</code> file as input to the TeX program (with the LaTeX macros loaded), which prompts TeX to write out a file suitable for onscreen viewing or printing.<ref>PDF output is common, but TeX can output other formats such as DVI ("Device independent" format).</ref> This write-format-preview cycle is one of the chief ways in which working with LaTeX differs from the [[WYSIWYG|What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get]] (WYSIWYG) style of document editing. It is similar to the code-compile-execute cycle known to computer programmers. Today, many LaTeX-aware editing programs make this cycle a simple matter through the pressing of a single key while showing the output preview on the screen beside the input window. Some online LaTeX editors even automatically refresh the preview,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Online LaTeX Compiler|url=https://onlinelatexcompiler.blogspot.com/2026/02/online-latex-compi.html|access-date=2026-02-04|archive-date=2026-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260511175028/https://onlinelatexcompiler.blogspot.com/2026/02/online-latex-compi.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=SciScribe|url=https://sciscribe.dev/|access-date=2026-05-18|archive-date=2026-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260511175040/https://sciscribe.dev/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Overleaf |url=https://www.overleaf.com/ |access-date=2016-06-21 |archive-date=2017-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203191939/https://www.overleaf.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Seeveeze |url=https://www.seeveeze.com/ |access-date=2015-12-27 |archive-date=2015-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208171339/https://www.seeveeze.com/ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LaTeX Base |url=https://latexbase.com/ |access-date=2017-09-19 |archive-date=2023-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629180843/https://latexbase.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while other online tools provide incremental editing in-place, mixed in with the preview in a single window.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Authorea |url=https://www.authorea.com/ |access-date=2017-06-28 |archive-date=2017-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628034821/https://www.authorea.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Pronunciation and typography ==
[[file:LaTeX logo.svg|thumb|100px|The LaTeX wordmark, typeset with LaTeX's <code>\LaTeX</code> macro|class=skin-invert-image]]
{{See also|TeX#Pronunciation and spelling}}

The characters 'T', 'E', and 'X' in the name come from the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] [[capital letter]]s [[tau]], [[epsilon]], and [[chi (letter)|chi]], as the name of [[TeX]] derives from the {{langx|grc|τέχνη}} ('skill', 'art', 'technique'); for this reason, TeX's creator [[Donald Knuth]] promotes its pronunciation as {{IPAc-en|t|ɛ|x}} ({{respell|tekh}})<ref>Donald E. Knuth, ''The TeXbook'', Addison–Wesley, Boston, 1986, p. 1.</ref> (that is, with a [[voiceless velar fricative]] as in Modern Greek, or the 'ch' in '[[loch]]'). Lamport remarks that "TeX is usually pronounced ''tech'', making ''lah''-tech, lah-''tech'', and ''lay''-tech the logical choices; but language is not always logical, so ''lay-tecks'' is also possible."<ref>Lamport (1994), p 5</ref>

The name is printed in running text with a typographical [[logo]]: {{stylized LaTeX|latex}}. In media where the logo cannot be precisely reproduced in running text, the word is typically given the unique capitalization LaTeX. Alternatively, the TeX, LaTeX,<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Edward |title=TeX and LaTeX logo POSHlets |url=http://edward.oconnor.cx/2007/08/tex-poshlet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230511/http://edward.oconnor.cx/2007/08/tex-poshlet |archive-date=2007-10-11 |access-date=2008-04-21}}</ref> and [[XeTeX]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taraborelli |first=Dario |title=CSS-driven TeX logos |url=http://nitens.org/taraborelli/texlogo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901040149/http://nitens.org/taraborelli/texlogo |archive-date=2017-09-01 |access-date=2008-04-21}}</ref> logos can also be rendered via pure [[CSS]] and [[XHTML]] for use in graphical [[web browser]]s – by following the specifications of the internal <code>\LaTeX</code> macro.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walden |first=David |date=2005-07-15 |title=Travels in TeX Land: A Macro, Three Software Packages, and the Trouble with TeX |url=https://www.tug.org/pracjourn/2005-3/walden-travels/ |journal=The PracTeX Journal |issue=3 |access-date=2008-04-21 |archive-date=2008-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704200634/http://www.tug.org/pracjourn/2005-3/walden-travels/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Example==

The example below shows the input to LaTeX and the corresponding output from the system:
<!-- Don't change the source code unless you know what you are doing and have checked that the output is the same or has been updated. -->

<div class="noresize" style="overflow-x:auto">
{| class=wikitable
! Input || Output
|-
| <syntaxhighlight lang="latex">
\documentclass{article} % Starts an article
\usepackage{amsmath} % Imports amsmath
\title{\LaTeX} % Title

\begin{document} % Begins a 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}
</syntaxhighlight>
|| [[File:LaTeX example.svg|500px|class=skin-invert-image]]
|}
</div>

==Related software==
[[File:CoCalc tikz diagrams.webp|thumb|[[CircuiTikZ]] and [[tikz]] diagrams created with [[CoCalc]]]]
As a macro package, LaTeX provides a set of macros for TeX to interpret. There are many other macro packages for TeX, including Plain TeX, [[GNU Texinfo]], [[AMSTeX]], [[Chemfig]], chemmacros,<ref>{{Cite web| title=Chemmacros - Comprehensive support for typesetting chemistry documents | url=https://ctan.math.washington.edu/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/chemmacros/chemmacros-manual.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726200742/https://ctan.math.washington.edu/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/chemmacros/chemmacros-manual.pdf | archive-date=2024-07-26}}</ref> [[PSTricks]], [[PSfrag]], and [[ConTeXt]].

When TeX "compiles" a document, it follows (from the user's point of view) the following processing sequence: Macros → TeX → Driver → Output. Different implementations of each of these steps are typically available in TeX distributions. Traditional TeX will output a [[DVI (file format)|DVI]] file, which is usually converted to a [[PostScript]] file. In 2000, Hàn Thế Thành and others wrote an implementation of TeX called [[pdfTeX]], which also outputs to [[PDF]] and takes advantage of features available in that format.<ref>{{Cite web |title=pdfTeX - TeX Users Group |url=https://www.tug.org/applications/pdftex/ |access-date=2019-07-20 |website=www.tug.org |archive-date=2019-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720044047/https://www.tug.org/applications/pdftex/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[XeTeX]] engine developed by Jonathan Kew, on the other hand, merges modern font technologies and Unicode with TeX.<ref>{{Cite web |title=XeTeX - TeX Users Group |url=http://www.tug.org/xetex/ |access-date=2019-07-20 |website=www.tug.org}}</ref> [[LuaTeX]] is an extended version of pdfTeX using Lua as an embedded scripting language.<ref name=luatex>{{cite web |
url=https://www.luatex.org/ |
title=LuaTeX |
access-date=2023-07-18 |
archive-date=2023-07-07 |
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707013741/http://www.luatex.org/ |
url-status=live }}</ref>

==Compatibility and converters==
LaTeX documents (<code>*.tex</code>) can be opened with any text editor. They consist of plain text and contain no hidden formatting codes or [[binary file|binary]] information. TeX documents can also be shared by rendering the LaTeX file to other formats such as [[OpenDocument]], [[XML]], or class ({{code|*.cls}}) files. LaTeX can also (and commonly is) rendered to PDF files using the LaTeX extension pdfLaTeX. LaTeX files containing [[Unicode]] text can be processed into PDFs with the <code>inputenc</code> package, or by the TeX extensions XeLaTeX and LuaLaTeX.
* [[TeX4ht]] is a converter that can translate TeX and LaTeX documents to HTML and certain XML formats. It is now included preconfigured with all TeX distributions.
* HeVeA is a converter written in [[OCaml]] that converts LaTeX documents to [[HTML5]]. This way, documents such as scientific papers, primarily typeset for printing, can be placed on the [[World Wide Web]] for online viewing. It is licensed under the [[Q Public License]].<ref>Website http://hevea.inria.fr/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602194708/http://hevea.inria.fr/ |date=2017-06-02 }}</ref>
* LaTeX2HTML is a converter written in [[Perl]] that converts LaTeX documents to HTML. It is licensed under [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] v2.<ref>According to LICENSE file in the [https://github.com/latex2html/latex2html/ source repository] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120105555/https://github.com/latex2html/latex2html/ |date=2019-11-20 }}.</ref> The latest updates are available from Comprehensive TeX Archive Network ([[CTAN]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=CTAN: Package latex2html |url=https://ctan.org/pkg/latex2html |website=ctan.org |access-date=2024-09-01 |archive-date=2024-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901165423/https://ctan.org/pkg/latex2html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* LaTeX2RTF is a converter written in [[C (programming language)|C]] that converts LaTeX documents to [[Rich Text Format|RTF]]. It is licensed under GPL v2 or later.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CTAN: /tex-archive/support/latex2rtf |url=https://ctan.org/tex-archive/support/latex2rtf |website=ctan.org |access-date=2024-09-01 |archive-date=2024-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901165423/https://ctan.org/tex-archive/support/latex2rtf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[LaTeXML]] is a converter written in Perl that converts LaTeX documents into a variety of XML-based formats, including HTML5 (with [[MathML]]), [[ePub]] ebooks, [[Journal Article Tag Suite|JATS]], and [[Text Encoding Initiative|TEI]]. It was developed at the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] by [[Copyright status of works by the federal government of the United States|US Federal Government employees and is therefore in the public domain]]. It is available for free.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LaTeXML A LaTeX to XML/HTML/MathML Converter |url=https://dlmf.nist.gov/LaTeXML/ |access-date=2018-08-18 |website=dlmf.nist.gov |archive-date=2018-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819011145/https://dlmf.nist.gov/LaTeXML/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Pandoc]] is a "universal document converter" able to transform LaTeX (as well as other formats) into many different file formats, including HTML5, ePub, OpenDocument (<code>*.odt</code>), Microsoft [[Office Open XML]] (<code>*.docx</code>), and even text with [[MediaWiki#Markup|MediaWiki markup]] as used in [[Wikipedia]]. It is licensed under GPL v2.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pandoc - About pandoc |url=http://pandoc.org/ |website=pandoc.org |access-date=2018-01-17 |archive-date=2018-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119064928/http://www.pandoc.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

LaTeX has become the [[de facto standard]] to typeset mathematical expression in scientific documents.<ref name="Gaudeul2006"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Knauff |first1=Markus |last2=Nejasmic |first2=Jelica |date=December 19, 2019 |title=An Efficiency Comparison of Document Preparation Systems Used in Academic Research and Development |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=12 |article-number=e115069 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0115069 |pmc=4272305 |pmid=25526083 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Hence, there are several conversion tools focusing on mathematical LaTeX expressions, such as converters to MathML or [[Computer Algebra System]].
* [[MathJax]] is a [[JavaScript]] library for converting LaTeX to MathML, picture formats including [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]] and [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]], or HTML for embedding within a webpage.
** The [[Wikimedia Foundation]] uses MathJax to build Mathoid, a [[web service]] that uses [[Node.js]] to render math that is used in Wikipedia.<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Schubotz |first1=Moritz |last2=Wicke |first2=Gabriel |year=2014 |title=Mathoid: Robust, Scalable, Fast and Accessible Math Rendering for Wikipedia |conference=CICM |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |publisher=Springer |volume=8543 |pages=224–235 |arxiv=1404.6179 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-08434-3_17 |isbn=978-3-319-08433-6 |book-title=Intelligent Computer Mathematics – International Conference}}</ref>
* [[KaTeX]] is a JavaScript library for converting LaTeX to HTML and MathML. It is developed by [[Khan Academy]], and is among the fastest LaTeX to HTML converters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KaTeX – The fastest math typesetting library for the web |url=https://katex.org/ |website=katex.org |access-date=2021-04-19 |archive-date=2021-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417000629/https://katex.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Licensing ==
LaTeX is typically distributed along with plain [[TeX]] under a [[free software license|free software licence]]: the [[LaTeX Project Public License]] (LPPL).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The LaTeX project public license |url=https://www.latex-project.org/lppl/ |access-date=2019-07-20 |website=www.latex-project.org |archive-date=2019-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713145611/https://www.latex-project.org/lppl/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The LPPL is not [[License compatibility|compatible]] with the [[GNU General Public License]], as it requires that modified files must be clearly differentiable from their originals (usually by changing the filename); this was done to ensure that files that depend on other files will produce the expected behavior and avoid [[dependency hell]]. The LPPL is [[Debian Free Software Guidelines]] (DFSG) compliant as of version 1.3. As [[free software]], LaTeX is available on most operating systems.

== Versions ==
{{infobox file format
| extension              = .tex
| mime                   = [[Media type#Unregistered tree|application/x-latex]]
| released               = {{Start date and age|1994}}
| latest_release_version = LaTeX2e
| latest_release_date    = {{Start date and age|1994}}
| genre                  = [[Document file format]]
}}

LaTeX2e is the current version of LaTeX, since it replaced LaTeX 2.09 in 1994.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Scavo |first=Tom |title=TeX, LaTeX, and AMS-LaTeX |url=http://web.syr.edu/~trscavo/latex/latex-history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981203013048/http://web.syr.edu/~trscavo/latex/latex-history.html |archive-date=3 December 1998 |access-date=6 September 2018}}</ref> {{As of|2020||df=}}, LaTeX3, which started in the early 1990s, is under a long-term development project.<ref name="Latex3planning"/> Planned features include improved syntax (separation of content from styling), [[hyperlink]] support, a new user interface, access to arbitrary fonts and a new documentation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank Mittelbach, Chris Rowley |date=January 12, 1999 |title=The LaTeX3 Project |url=https://www.latex-project.org/guides/ltx3info.pdf |access-date=2007-07-30 |archive-date=2007-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808083522/http://www.latex-project.org/guides/ltx3info.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Some LaTeX3 features are available in LaTeX2e using packages,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Joseph |title=Why is LaTeX3 taking so long to come out? |url=https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/986/ |website=TeX - LaTeX Stack Exchange}}</ref> and by 2020 many features have been enabled in LaTeX2e by default for a gradual transition.<ref name="Latex3planning"/>

There are many commercial implementations of the entire TeX system. System vendors may add extra features like added [[typeface]]s and [[help desk|telephone support]]. [[LyX]] is a [[free software]], [[WYSIWYM]] visual document processor that uses LaTeX for a back-end.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LyX: What is LyX? |url=https://www.lyx.org/WhatIsLyX |access-date=2019-07-20 |website=www.lyx.org |archive-date=2019-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720044044/https://www.lyx.org/WhatIsLyX |url-status=live }}</ref> [[TeXmacs]] is a free, [[WYSIWYG]] editor with similar functionalities as LaTeX, but with a different typesetting engine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to GNU TeXmacs (FSF GNU project) |url=https://www.texmacs.org/tmweb/home/welcome.en.html |website=www.texmacs.org |access-date=2019-07-20 |archive-date=2019-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720044046/https://www.texmacs.org/tmweb/home/welcome.en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Other WYSIWYG editors that produce LaTeX include [[Scientific Word]] on Windows and [[macOS]].

Many community-supported TeX distributions are available.

== Adoption ==

LaTeX is widely used in academia for the communication and publication of scientific documents and technical note-taking in many fields, owing partially to its support for complex mathematical notation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What are TeX, LaTeX and friends? |url=https://www.ctan.org/what_is_tex.html |access-date=2007-10-09 |archive-date=2007-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011063439/http://ctan.org/what_is_tex.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gaudeul2006">{{Cite journal |last=Alexia Gaudeul |date=June 2007 |title=Do Open Source Developers Respond to Competition?: The (La)TeX Case Study |journal=Review of Network Economics |volume=6 |issue=2 |doi=10.2202/1446-9022.1119 |s2cid=201097782 |doi-access=free}}</ref> It also has a prominent role in the preparation and publication of books and articles that contain complex [[Multilingualism|multilingual materials]], such as Arabic and Greek.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Markin |first=Pablo |date=1 November 2017 |title=LaTeX, Open Source Software, Facilitates the Adoption of Open Access by Authors, Repositories and Journals |url=http://openscience.com/latex-open-source-software-facilitates-the-adoption-of-open-access-by-authors-repositories-and-journals/ |access-date=5 November 2017 |website=OpenScience |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109001132/https://openscience.com/latex-open-source-software-facilitates-the-adoption-of-open-access-by-authors-repositories-and-journals/ }}</ref> LaTeX uses the TeX typesetting program for formatting its output, and is itself written in the TeX [[Macro (computer science)|macro]] language.

LaTeX can be used as a standalone document preparation system or as an intermediate format. In the latter role, for example, it is sometimes used as part of a pipeline for translating [[DocBook]] and other [[XML]]-based formats for PDF. The typesetting system offers programmable [[desktop publishing]] features and extensive facilities for automating most aspects of typesetting and desktop publishing, including numbering and cross-referencing of tables and figures, chapter and section headings, graphics, page layout, indexing and [[bibliography|bibliographies]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

* {{anl|BibTeX}}
* {{anl|Comparison of TeX editors}}
* {{anl|Formula editor}}
* {{anl|KaTeX}}
* {{anl|List of document markup languages}} and [[Markdown#Markdown editors|List of markdown editors]]
* {{anl|List of TeX extensions}}
* {{anl|LyX}} 
* {{anl|MathJax}}
* {{anl|xdvi}}

== References ==

{{refs}}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite book |last=Flynn |first=Peter |url=http://latex.silmaril.ie/formattinginformation/ |title=Formatting Information: A Beginner's Guide to LaTeX |publisher=Silmaril |year=2017 |edition=7th online |location=Cork |page=193 |orig-date=2002}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Griffiths |first1=David F. |title=Learning LaTeX |last2=Highman, David S. |publisher=Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics |year=1997 |isbn=0-89871-383-8 |location=Philadelphia}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kopka |first1=Helmut |title=Guide to LaTeX |last2=Daly, Patrick W. |publisher=Addison-Wesley Professional |year=2003 |isbn=0-321-17385-6 |edition=4th}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lamport |first=Leslie |title=LaTeX: A document preparation system: User's guide and reference |publisher=Addison-Wesley Professional |others=illustrations by Duane Bibby |year=1994 |isbn=0-201-52983-1 |edition=2nd |location=Reading, Mass |author-link=Leslie Lamport}}
* {{cite web |last=Oetiker |first=Tobias |date=2021-03-09 |title=The not so Short Introduction to LaTeX |url=https://mirrors.ctan.org/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf |website=ctan.org |access-date=2025-10-14}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Mittelbach |first1=Frank |title=The LaTeX Companion |last2=Fischer, Ulrike |publisher=Addison-Wesley |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-13-465894-0 |edition=3rd}} Vol II: {{Cite book |last1=Mittelbach |first1=Frank |title=The LaTeX Companion |last2=Fischer, Ulrike |publisher=Addison-Wesley |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-201-36300-5 |edition=3rd}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|wikt=LaTeX|commons=LaTeX|b=LaTeX|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=LaTeX|voy=no|species=no|d=Q5310}}

* {{official website}}

{{TeX navbox}}
{{LaTeX navbox}}
{{Ebooks}}
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[[Category:Declarative markup languages]]
[[Category:Free TeX software]]
[[Category:Free text editors]]
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[[Category:Typography software|Typesetting]]
[[Category:Open formats]]
[[Category:Software using the LaTeX Project Public License]]
[[Category:SRI International software]]
[[Category:Formula editors]]