Research Librarian
Charles Wu
Contact:
One UTSA Circle
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX 78249-0671
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX 78249-0671
(210)-458-4895
Engineering Librarian
LaTeX: What, Where, How & Why
- What: LaTeX is a software system for document preparation, especially used as an editor for scientific documents while it makes easy to typeset complex mathematical formulas.
- Where: There are many LaTeX editors freely available on the internet, one of which, Overleaf (used to be called ShareLaTex), is a widely used because it is a collaborative cloud-based version.
- How: You type the content (with LaTex commands) into a LaTeX editor's document - any document created by LaTex editor ending with file extension .tex - then LaTex system can compile the source code in the .tex document, and finally generate a PDF file. In a sense of its finished product, the LaTex system is acts like MS-Word, but with the help of LaTex coding.
- Why with BibTeX: Within a LaTeX .tex document, through the use of a package called BibTex, you can automatically generate and format a bibliography (the reference list) in the chosen style.
What is BibTex?
- BibTeX stands for a file format - with file extension of .bib - that contains a bibliography or a list of references.
- As an external, flat-file database, this BibTex file can be initially generated and transitorily stored within the Zotero or EndNote software program;
- A BibTex file can be viewed as "transitory" as, in the end, the file would be uploaded / imported into a LaTeX editor program. In conjunction within a LaTex coding document (a .tex document), it makes possible that the cited works and references within the BibTex file appear in the output of your desire.
- BibTeX is a bibliographic tool that can interact with LaTeX in organizing in-text citations and creating a bibliography.
- Due to BibTex, each reference in the bibliography file is automatically formatted with a certain structure and is given a "key" (key = unique identifier of a bibliographic entry) by which you can refer to in a LaTex .tex file.
- BibTeX interacts with LaTeX in a way allowing you to cite any reference that is contained within the .bib file. For detailed info on how to use .bib file within a .tex document, please see the box titled "BibTeX-related Commands" in the page "BibTex: What and How."