Installing LaTeX on Ubuntu

LaTeX is a markup language for describing a document. It can also be defined as a document preparation system. LaTeX is mainly used to create technical or scientific articles, papers, reports, books or Ph.D. thesis.

There are a number of LaTeX distributions you can install on Ubuntu. One such distribution is TeX Live.

  1. To install Tex Live LaTeX distribution on ubuntu use the following command.
    sudo apt-get install texlive-full
  2. To edit LaTeX documents we need an editor. There are a number of LaTeX editors you can find. I recommend Texmaker, a cross-platform LaTeX editor. To install Texmaker on Ubuntu use following command.
    sudo apt-get install texmaker
  3. To open Texmaker on Ubuntu use following command.
    texmaker
  4. Now let’s create a simple document using Texmaker. Click on File -> New and insert following lines in the blank document.
    \documentclass{article}
    \begin{document}
      Hello world!
    \end{document}
  5. Now save the document as a ‘tex’ file by clicking File -> Save. Compile the document clicking the arrow Quick Build.