TeX
Instructions
Nearly
all mathematicians today use TeX or LaTeX (a specialized system of TeX
macros and environments) to type their texts: mathematical and
non-mathematical. For typing Mathematics there is nothing better at the
moment. So, as an aspiring mathematician you owe it to yourself to
acquire sufficient skills in using (La)TeX. And once you learn the
basics, you should use (La)TeX frequently. Otherwise you will forget
what you've had learned.
First,
you need to install a TeX distribution on your computer. Under
Unix/Linux operating systems you will most likely have a choice of
using TeXLive, perhaps avaliable in a number of packages from a package
repository of your Linux distribution (this is so, e.g., for Fedora, Gentoo, and I am sure, also for Debian and Debian based
distributions like Ubuntu).
On older computers you may still see tetex
from which TeXLive is derived. MacOS X users today are using MacTeX
which is basically a Mac localization of TeXLive. TeXLive can be
installed under Windows, and certainly some persons use it but there is
an independent, older Windows distribution of TeX called MiKTeX. It matured to
an excellent typesetting environment, and is probably the most widely
used implementationn of TeX today.
Thus,
if you use Windows, install MiKTeX
2.8 (basic). Additional packages will be installed automatically
when the need arises.
I
suggest that the next thing after installing MiKTeX you download the
LaTeX document, called testmath.tex,
showcasing numerous capabilities of typing Mathematics with LaTeX
packages prepared by the American Mathematical Society (AMS). This can be the first document
you compile. Doing this will cause MiKTeX fetch any missing packages;
this will ensure that all the AMS packages will be available in your
own documents.
My
preferred way to compile TeX documents under MiKTeX, is to open a
CMD.EXE terminal window in the folder containing the LaTeX
document and then executing the corresponding command. If your document
is called testmath.tex, then the you should write at the command prompt:
pdflatex
testmath.tex
and
press ENTER. This will initiate the compilation process with a number
of messages printed in the terminal window. You may be asked by MiKTeX
package manager to install missing packages. Say Yes. For this to work you have to
be connected to the internet.
If
everything goes well, you should be returned to the command prompt.
Three more files called: testmath.pdf,
tesmtath.log,
and testmath.aux,
will appear in the folder where you excuted the command. The first is
the compiled PDF document---view it with a PDF viewer, the second
is the LOG file---very useful to obtain detailed information about the
compilation, especially when problems arise; the third is an auxiliary
file---not for you but for a LaTeX engine itself. It is used, e.g., for
building crossreferences in the resulting PDF document. You may need to
run the compilation command twice to produce the crossreferences.
:: :: :: ::
There
is a wealth of tutorials, introductions, and examples, available
online. You can start with the wikipedia article, which
has a nice simple example, and where you will find very useful links,
or you can go straight to the Introduction
for Absolute Beginners.
Many
more resources have been collected at www.tug.org. Your own TeX
distribution may come with a number of documents, sample (La)TeX
documents, and examples. Look for them in subfolders of folder doc
located in the folder where your TeX distribution has been installed
(for MiKTeX it will be most likely: C:\Program
Files\MiKTeX 2.7\doc).
For your class project you will need graphicx
package (here you can find a manual).
You
will load it in your LaTeX document with the directive:
\usepackage[pdftex]{graphicx}
which
has to be placed in the header of your LaTeX document. You will need to
learn how to label figures,
refer to the labels
in the text of your LaTeX document, and how to produce captions
under the figures. The wikibooks LaTeX/Index will
be your constant assistant when navigating in the LaTeX territory.
A
solution to the first problem
on the Second Midterm: download and view it in KSEG.
due October 30
Chapter 2: 13 14 15 17 18 19 20 24
and Exercices: 5 on p. 43, and 6 on p.44 of the hand out distributed in
class earlier last week.
due October 23
Chapter 2: 8 9 10 11 12
Using KSEG produce a "picture" illustrating the Little Desargues
Theorem
Print-out and study the following note.
Follow
the references to find the meaning of all the notions mentioned in that
note, write down the corresponding definitions, and explain the result
covered by that note.
due October 16
Chapter 2: 1 2 3 4 5 7
Download, unpack, and start using the following
ZIP archive. And remember
to bring your laptop on Monday to the class.
due October 2
Chapter 1: 37 38 45 & (Project): 1 through 9
due September 25
Chapter 1: 18 26 (read the defition of
a collineation first) 27 28 29 31 32
due September 18
Chapter 1: 14 15 16 17
due September 11
Chapter 1: 7 8 9
due September 4
Chapter 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6