LaTeX is a markdown language that helps produce technical & scientific documentation.
Some interesting points:
- LaTeX is based on TeX, which is a typesetting system
- TeX was created by Donald Knuth, well known for The Art of Computer Programming among others
- TeX was released in 1978, with LaTeX in 1984
Installing / Using LaTeX
There are two ways:
- Installing an editor: Installing LaTeX and TeXStudio or VSCode/Vim provides an offline experience
- Online editors: Overleaf.com, each project gets a file structure, visual editor, and collaboration
Inline & Aligned Math
Inline math mode: $$
| Command | Display |
|---|---|
| $y = x^2 + b$ |
Aligned math: google an example
Tables
google an example
Figures
google an example
Algorithms (VERY IMPORTANT)
Example:
\begin{algorithm}
\caption{Finding Maximum in an Array}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\STATE \textbf{Input:} Array $A[1 \dots n]$
\STATE \textbf{Output:} Maximum element in $A$
\STATE $max \gets A[1]$
\FOR{$i = 2$ to $n$}
\IF{$A[i] > max$}
\STATE $max \gets A[i]$
\ENDIF
\ENDFOR
\STATE \textbf{return} $max$
\end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}Text References
If you include a figure/algorithm/graph/table, it is always good practice to reference that content.
For example, we used the \label command above; this creates a label we can refer to later with \ref.
We can use this command to refer back to Algorithm 1 by passing alg:algo as the argument to ref.
This generates a clickable link, important when you’re reading!
Miscellaneous Tips
- New lines can be forces by using \\, basically a new line
- Left side quotation marks use backticks (“), not ”
- Overleaf provides autocompletion of commands (especially for complex commands like tables), and the visual editor lets you use stuff like the Add Table command
- LLMs are useful for debugging LaTeX, but know what you want to do (do not let it write it for you)
IEEE Conference Template
- Only author name/student number is required
- Abstract may be needed depending on the rubric