LaTeX is a complex text-processing system often recommended by the
SIPB as an alternative to Frame Technology's FrameMaker\
and the Andrew Consortium's EZ. We believe both LaTeX and
FrameMaker to be more powerful and more flexible than EZ.
Choosing between LaTeX and FrameMaker may be a tougher decision,
since each has its strengths and weaknesses. Some people may prefer
FrameMaker's graphical user interface to the typesetting commands of
LaTeX. FrameMaker makes it easier to arrange your text on the page
if you want more than simple one- or two-column layout. However, we
believe that LaTeX is simpler to master, and more practical for
formatting technical papers. It won't ever erase your document when
you aren't looking and leave you stranded.
Also, LaTeX's range of document styles and formatting options is
currently wider than FrameMaker's. It has a very powerful math
typesetting facility, which makes including mathematical formulas in
your document easy, and it is capable of generating documents in
foreign languages complete with accents and non-English characters,
such as the German ß character. Additionally, while FrameMaker is
somewhat new to Athena and even EZ is still somewhat unstable on
Athena, LaTeX use at Athena was introduced by the SIPB several
years ago, and was officially adopted by Athena in the summer of 1989.
There are LaTeX manuals available for use in the SIPB office, and
you're welcome to drop by the office with a question. There are also
manuals available for short-time loan from the OLC office (11-115) and some available for withdrawal from
the MIT Libraries.
If you have any comments, additions or corrections to this manual,
please send them to sipb@mit.edu or drop by the SIPB office
(W20-557) and let us know.