A long time ago, back when there was none of this GUI madness, there was a different way of typing up reports and articles. Today, we just open the nearest word processor and type away. Back then, there was typesetting.

Word processors are the way to type up anything these days, be it a book, an article, or even posters. We can bold and italicize at will. We can place things where we want them to go. We can change how big the font is. We can change the typeface completely if we wanted to. Such is the marvel that is the modern WYSIWYG word processor.

However, there are some things that you just can’t do with ease in a word processor. Most students will find that math and science assignments are near impossible to type up because of all the equations and calculations. Back in September, I had to write a physics lab and I learned how hard it is to write a physics equation when there are no keys with vector notation on it. Exponents are nothing when you have to type out square roots and fractions.

My discovery of OpenOffice.org Math was an amazing moment. Finally, I could input those evil equations into my documents and they won’t look like crap! Arrows and radicals would finally submit to me. And so I had a blast writing up the math handout.

I learned recently of a time when typesetting was king and windows were made of glass. Typesetting works a lot like HTML in that it’s markup but once you put it through a processor, it’ll be instant beauty.

Linux comes with a TeX distribution called LaTeX. Basically, I have to write up a file that contains all the necessary information on it like so:
\documentclass[12pt,letterpaper]{article}
\begin{document}
\title{Chapter 3 - Financial Mathematics}
\author{Timothy Ng}
\maketitle
\section*{3.1 - Compund Interest: Amount and Present Value}
\begin{enumerate}
\item
\begin{eqnarray*}
P &=& {1000000 \over 1.06^{35}} \
P &=& {1000000 \over 7.686} \
P &=& {130106.69}
\end{eqnarray*}
You would need to deposit \emph{\$130106.69}.
\item
\begin{eqnarray*}
n &=& {\log ({3P \over P}) \over \log 1.08} \
n &=& 14.27
\end{eqnarray*}
It would take just over \emph{14 years} to triple the principal.
\end{enumerate}
\end{document}And like magic, it’ll end up all formatted correctly and beautifully.

I don’t need to specify any special formatting cues. Like HTML, typesetting is all about content and structure, not presentation. And so, just like that, I can have a clean, well organized report.

I can see why this is still the way for academia to create articles and reports. It’s great. And I found this great University of Waterloo co-op work report package for LaTeX that will format it according to the work report standards. I can see it becoming a really good friend in two years.

Not as random or clumsy as a blaster. It’s an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.