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 ;).