General ⇒ Just a simple question

[krishna]

Hey guys,

From your experience, is LateX a thing you can learn by yourself or do you need to take some class? I mean, I saw somewhere that they have LaTex class. I'm trying to learn by myself and had preety hard time executing the files at first.

My point is, is there anything one needs to know before trying to learn LateX to make learning easier? I mean like simpler programs?

Thanks
Peace!

[frabjous]

I think you can learn LaTeX on your own, without any prior knowledge of a simpler mark-up language or anything like that, though there is definitely a steep learning curve at first. I did, anyway... I don't claim to know half as much as some people around here, but I'm pretty comfortable with my skills my now, at least for my own purposes.

The (Not-So) Short Introduction to LaTeX2e is a great place to start. (It's where I started.)

Good luck.

[localghost]

[…] From your experience, is LateX a thing you can learn by yourself or do you need to take some class? I mean, I saw somewhere that they have LaTex class. I'm trying to learn by myself and had preety hard time executing the files at first. […]

Of course you can learn it by yourself. But you have to take into account that you will have to read many manuals to get familiar with LaTeX and all its extending packages. From my experience such LaTeX classes impart only the basics so that you will hit the limits very soon. The capabilities of LaTeX go much farther. Finally there are forums like this to clarify upcoming questions.

[…] My point is, is there anything one needs to know before trying to learn LateX to make learning easier? I mean like simpler programs? […]

From my point of view there is no special prior knowledge needed. However, as frabjous already mentioned, there is a steep learning curve. If you want to use LaTeX extensively, consider acquiring a book for beginners.


Best regards and welcome to the board
Thorsten

[krishna]

Thanks guys. I guess I at least know what to expect from myself.