LaTeX Style

If you don’t know what it is, I recommend you should just play with it and don’t care about the style.

But I’d like to say TinyTeX (~500 MB) or Overleaf (0 MB) are better choices than TeX Live (~5 GB). I normally write in Markdown first, and then use Overleaf. If you’re using JupyterLab, jupyterlab-latex is basically the local version of Overleaf.

§1 General

• About the name: $\LaTeX$ ($\LaTeX$) is great, LaTeX or latex is acceptable, lAtEx is brutal.

• You should never start from scratch. Finding a template and modifying the template is so much easier. Starting from scratch is mission impossible.

• The folder structure should look like this so that it’s more manageable:

  ├── data
  │   └── i-tried.cls
  ├── figures
  │   ├── figure1-amazing-plot.png
  │   ├── figure2-accurate-figure.svg
  │   └── figure3-beautiful-plot.pdf
  ├── main.bbl
  ├── main.tex
  └── pages
      ├── abstract.tex
      ├── appendix.tex
      ├── chapter1.tex
      ├── chapter2.tex
      ├── chapter3.tex
      └── chapter4.tex
  

  This might be different for arXiv submission, check out this guide: Submit TeX/LaTeX - arXiv info, this template: arxiv-style and two python tools: arxiv-converter, flatex. Or just download the source of a paper you like and modify it.

§2 This and That

These are strange rules, and keep them.

§2.1 Equations

I normally use Supported Functions · KaTeX or LaTeX数学公式语法 to find how to write a certain symbol or equation.

§2.1.1 When a Sentence End with an Equation

Use \, for the end of an equation, when followed by “.”.

For example: The Energy is given by $$E_0=mc^2 \space . \tag{1}$$

The Energy is given by \[E_0=mc^2 \, . \tag{1}\]

(In the source code of this article, I have to use \space rather than \,. Because the latter one would compile as “$,$”.)

§2.1.2 Number and Series Number

Always use \( \) for number. For example: There are $24$ elements in total.

There are \(24\) elements in total.

And for series number, for example: This is the $n^{\textrm{th}}$ element.

This is the \(n^{\textrm{th}}\) element.

§2.1.3 Unit

1. Use \, between number and unit.
2. Use \mathrm{} for the unit.

For example: $3 \times 10^8 \space \mathrm{m/s}$

\(3 \times 10^8 \, \mathrm{m/s}\)

§2.1.4 Integral

1. \mathrm{d} x for $\mathrm{d} x$.
2. \, before $\mathrm{d}x$.
3. \! between $\int$ and what’s to be intergraded.

For example: $\int_0^{\pi} f(x) \space \mathrm{d} x = 1$

\(\int_0^{\pi} \! f(x) \, \mathrm{d} x = 1\)

§2.1.5 Transpose

For example: $\mathbf{A}^\mathsf{T}$

\(\mathbf{A}^\mathsf{T}\)

§2.1.6 bracket

For example: $\lparen \rparen$, $\lbrack \rbrack$, $\lbrace \rbrace$

\(\lparen \rparen\)
\(\lbrack \rbrack\)
\(\lbrace \rbrace\)

So that the bracket would get a proper length.

And for $\bra{\phi}$, $\ket{\psi}$, $\braket{\phi\vert\psi}$ in Quantum Physics:

\(\bra{\phi}\)
\(\ket{\psi}\)
\(\braket{\phi\vert\psi}\)

§2.2 Text

§2.2.1 “.” “!” “?”

1. “.” would be considered as the end of a sentence, but sometimes it’s not right, for example: “e.g.” and “i.e.”. That’s when we use \ :

   Neutron is composed of quarks, i.e.\ it's not fundamental.
   

2. After a capital Letter, the “.” would be considered in the middle of a name, for example: “F. Scott Fitzgerald”. But sometimes we don’t want that, for example: “Then I asked ChatGPT. It’s of no use either.” That’s when we use \@. to tell $\LaTeX$ it is the end of a sentence:

   Then I asked ChatGPT\@. It's of no use either.
   

It is the same for “!” and “?”.

§2.2.2 Hyphens, En-dashes and Em-dashes

Hyphens, for example: 5-year-old

5-year-old

En-dashes, for example: See pages 200-201.

See pages 200--201.

Em-dashes, for example: Most newspapers — and all that follow AP style — insert a space before and after the em-dash.

Most newspapers --- and all that follow AP style --- insert a space before and after the em-dash.

§2.2.3 Quotation

""

`` ''

I understand, but this is just weird.

§2.2.4 People’s name

Use ~ instead of space to avoid a name being broken into two parts to the next line:

F.~Scott~Fitzgerald is known as a writer.

It is the same if you don’t want to break a phrase. e.g. rank $1$

rank~\(1\)

§2.3 Table

LaTeX table generator can generate tables.

§2.4 Code

To quote a package, for example, $\texttt{NumPy}$:

\texttt{NumPy}