TeX LyX LaTeX

Since this blog has converted to Pelican, using reStructuredText files, this post doesn't currently demonstrate, what it says it does.

The typesetting word-processor is here. I have had an exciting discovery in the world of Linux and free software. For awhile now, I have been aware of LaTeX, which is used for typesetting on a computer. It does cool things like equations, E = mc2. Notice the little two, like a properly written equation? The down side is that it is like writing code to get it to do what you want. A couple of days ago, I discovered LyX, which is a front end for Latex, that is used as a WYSIWYM. Notice I wrote WYSIWYM and not WYSIWYG? You see this goes a step beyond what a traditional word-processor does, because it type sets as you go, meaning you just write, without having to do any formating. No changing fonts, or letter styles. So What you see is what you mean, rather than what you see is what you get. It can be used for writing letters, articles including scientific journal formats, reports, books, resumes, scripts, transparencies, etc.

Any way, because it is a typesetter and not a word-processor, it is different to use. So I went through the introduction documentation, and tutorial material that comes with it. And in short order I found that I was able to use it for word-processing, and already find it much faster to use too.

Because it’s main purpose is typesetting, LyX exports to PDF and Postscript for printing. It also exports to HTML, XHTML, plain text, and a couple of other formats. This post is written on LyX and if all goes according to plan, will be exported directly to this blog, by a plug-in, that I just installed. There are two different HTML converters for the plug-in, and I am just trying the default one for this first post, to see what happens, and how it looks with the site’s CSS style sheet.

p.s LyX also comes with a dictionary and thesaurus built in, just like a real word-processor.

p.p.s I changed to the other HTML converter, because the default one didn't work out so well.

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