[Tuglist] front-end to latex

[Radhakrishnan CV]

>>>>> "Baburaj" == Baburaj A Puthenveettil
>>>>> <apbabu@mecheng.iisc.ernet.in> writes:

    Baburaj> Dear CVR, Could you please elaborate what is auctex

from the README:

AUC TeX is a comprehensive customizable integrated environment for
writing input files for LaTeX using GNU Emacs.

AUC TeX lets you run TeX/LaTeX and other LaTeX-related tools, such as
a output filters or post processor from inside Emacs.  Especially
`running LaTeX' is interesting, as AUC TeX lets you browse through the
errors TeX reported, while it moves the cursor directly to the
reported error, and displays some documentation for that particular
error.  This will even work when the document is spread over several
files.

AUC TeX automatically indents your `LaTeX-source', not only as you
write it -- you can also let it indent and format an entire document.
It has a special outline feature, which can greatly help you `getting
an overview' of a document.

Apart from these special features, AUC TeX provides a large range of
handy Emacs macros, which in several different ways can help you write
your LaTeX documents fast and painlessly.

    Baburaj> and reftex

RefTeX is a specialized package for support of labels, references,
citations, and the index in LaTeX.  RefTeX wraps itself round 4 LaTeX
macros: `\label', `\ref', `\cite', and `\index'.  Using these macros
usually requires looking up different parts of the document and
searching through BibTeX database files.  RefTeX automates these
time-consuming tasks almost entirely.  It also provides functions to
display the structure of a document and to move around in this
structure quickly.

    Baburaj> setup as well as how to use the preview latex in
    Baburaj> emacs. 

Here is a post dated Mon, 6 May 2002 10:17:48 +0530 (IST) in this list
about preview-latex:

Those who are using GNU Emacs as their editor can now enjoy near
WYSIWYG typesetting in LaTeX if they can spare a few minutes to
integrate a Lisp program called, preview-latex.el written by David
Kastrup <David.Kastrup@t-online.de> et al to the Emacs setup.
Preview-latex can also be a good reason to switch to GNU Emacs
editor for those who use TeX as their text formatter but have 
hitherto kept Emacs at a distance.

The program can be downloaded from:

 http://sourceforge.net/projects/preview-latex

Please have a look at a screen shot (86KB) of an Emacs frame with
preview-latex at:

 http://www.tug.org.in/download/preview.jpg

where you can find a complex LaTeX document with all the inline and
display math, section heading, etc neatly formatted. Preview-latex
keeps all the math, floats and section headings as images in the
Emacs buffer. With a middle button click at the image, the image
disappears and original TeX sources appear for you to edit, with
another middle button click, it brings back the updated image!

There is a menu item in the AUCTeX menu namely "preview", you can
use this for selectively previewing a particular item, region,
buffer, document, etc. Keyboard shortcuts for all the items are
available.

Also see the following previews with pstricks code and image in a TeX
document:

http://www.tug.org.in/download/preview-pst1.jpg
http://www.tug.org.in/download/preview-pst2.jpg

    Baburaj> Currently I am using gvim and is wasting quite a bit of
    Baburaj> time compiling each time I edit the tex file and seeing
    Baburaj> the dvi file. 

That is a huge waste of time.

    Baburaj> Does gvim has that facility?, 

I dont think so.

    Baburaj> if so I dont have to shift to emacs from gvim 

It is worth trying emacs/auctex/reftex/preview-latex combination.
Really great.

-- 
Radhakrishnan