Compile LaTeX Online
LaTeX is a great tool for anyone in the sciences. Not only it allows you to typeset your documents, add bibliographical information and create professional papers, but also you can write equations to send to your friends over the internet. This is very useful when you are explaining a concept to someone over instant messaging. Several clients even support automatic LaTeX formulas in the messages, however I have not been able to find one for Windows. This means that I have to upload all the generated formulas online, and send them a link. Luckily, this process is made much easier with the use of ScienceSoft’s Online LaTeX Compiler.
The online LaTeX compiler allows you to enter in your LaTeX code just as if you were using a normal editor. Then you just hit the “Start LaTeX” button, and in a few seconds (if there were no errors) you will see your formatted document as a PNG image. Then you can send your friends the link to the image, and you are done. The editor also contains many other features that make my life much simpler, like templates for many different LaTeX files (equations, documents…)
There is also a Flash version, which is bit slower but has a much nicer GUI. Also it contains a clipboard with the commands and names of the common symbols in mathematics.
Great!
I just entered this load of meaningless math (as a test) in LateX
[
infty theta left| {begin{array}{*{20}c}
4 & y \
x & 6 \
end{array} } right|
]
into that ScienceSoft LaTeX compile you mention. All I get back is a block of tons of errors messages and comments.
I also entered some TeX:
$$
eqalign{
& x_1 = B(x) = B cr
& x_2 = BB_1 cr
& x_3 = BB_1^2 + B^2 B_2 cr}
$$
just to be sure.
I am still looking for an online compiler of TeX or LaTeX that will return readable mathematics.
I produced the code above form Mathtype Ver 6.0 in MS Word using Mathtype Convert command.
To my dismay, mathoverflow.net has decided to require people to post math questions in TeX or LaTeX instead of the infinitely superior WYSIWYG system of MS Word 2000 and Design Science’s Mathtype 6.2. Click, drag, done! AMAZING!
I have produced a 275-page doctoral math dissertation (Rutgers U, 2000), 5 published articles in peer-reviewed math journals, 2 in arxiv.org, and countless other math-related papers for courses that I have taught and other jobs – all in MS Word and Mathtype.
It has been 20 years (1990) since I first learned of TeX and its numerous mutant offspring. My learning curve is, apparently, still 20 years, because I have still not yet seen ONE single piece of proof that ANY useful mathematics can be produced from this TeX garbage.
I prefer to get math done. Not waste my entire life guessing and searching all over the internet for some obscure piece of code necessary to display a piece of mathematics.
So, please – find me a compiler online that will compile the output from my Convert command in Mathtype. Thank you.
Darren,
Did you use a preamble, or just insert the LaTeX and hope for it to produce a document for you from code you used?
Admittedly, LaTeX isn’t for everyone, and if it’s not for you, then that’s perfectly fine! There is a great deal of manual coding and often troubleshooting required to use LaTeX, especially when you first start, so you have to have patience to learn it. When you do accomplish that uphill battle, however, LaTeX is capable of producing astounding documents.
If you haven’t accomplished a single LaTeX document in 20 years, then my guess is you haven’t actually tried. Some good starting information over here: http://latexforhumans.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/basic-latex-document/
This will make your document compile correctly:
documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{article}
begin{document}
[
infty theta left| {begin{array}{*{20}c}
4 & y \
x & 6 \
end{array} } right|
]
end{document}
Getting math written correctly in LaTeX is faster and often easier than getting it done in MathType, in my own experience, once you understand the formatting. Although, one could argue that brain surgery is exceedingly simple by the same argument!