The LaTeX Story (2/3): The Why

LaTeX is unintuitive. The spaces don't work like spaces, the commands have a syntax like no other language, the special characters often keep you busy debugging your code, adding images already requires a package (don't even talk about floats to a newcomer), adding a ₹ still requires a hack, and the list goes on.

Still worth it

Besides so many downsides, LaTeX is still something I'm proud to have befriended. My eyes lit up when I compiled my first equation to PDF with LaTeX - zooming in to see the smooth vectors. My foremost experiments with LaTeX were offline, and set up locally on my PC, which made the compilation and debugging quick.

Then I just kept learning - basic typesetting, tables, images, colors, tikz, commands, bibliography, etc.

The benefits

• Beautiful result.
• Faster than writing. Always for text, with practice for equations, though rarely for figures.
• Can be tracked with Git.
• Easy to modify later.

Again, some more examples from my notes and assignments.

If you're curious about how my LaTeX setup evolved, continue with “The How”. You can also revisit “The What” for the intro.