Why I love LaTeX
von Felix
I am not tied to an operating system; it works everywhere.
I can use my favorite text editor to write, namely vim or gedit.
I can use other powerful tools that I am already familiar with, e.g., grep and wc.
I can structure my document into different files and folders, as many as I want.
I can easily put my files under source control, experiment and collaborate with others.
I will still be able to read the files in 30 years time. After all, LaTeX files are just flat text files.
I can focus on content instead of presentation and use semantic markup.
I can stand on the shoulders of giants when I need to create, e.g., a glossary.
I can rely on the insights of far more able typesetters but am still able to control the details if it is necessary.
I can write once and compile to PDF, DVI or whatever I feel like that day.
I can automate tasks by integrating LaTeX into scripts or build tools.
I may even be able to recompile the document in 30 years time.
I do not even have to pay for it.
I love it.
Joerg schrieb am 12. Januar 2012 um 12:41:
A professor once told me that he recently (2011) tried to compile the lecture notes he wrote in the 80s. They still compile and the output looks fine
Your thoughts are not far-fetched!
Felix schrieb am 13. Januar 2012 um 15:36:
That is very impressive. A less extreme example that I am aware of is the resurrection of John Graham-Cumming’s PhD thesis after 13 years: http://blog.jgc.org/2009/08/in-which-i-resurrect-13-year-old-35.html
However, I’d say that the probability for perfect reconstruction decreases rapidly with every third party package or esoteric BibTeX style (din1505 anyone?). I guess we have to wait a few decades
.