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+\chapter[Preface]{Preface to the \LaTeX-Guide}
+\section{General Remarks}
+
+A new edition to ``A Guide to \LaTeX'' begs the fundamental question:
+Has \LaTeX\ changed so much since the appearance of the third edition in 1999
+that a new release of this manual is justified?
+
+The simple answer to that question is `Well \dots.' In 1994, the \LaTeX\
+world was in upheaval with the issue of the new version \LaTeXe, and the
+second edition of the `Guide' came out just then to act as the bridge
+between the old and new versions. By 1998, the initial teething problems had
+been worked out and corrected through semi-annual releases, and the third
+edition could describe an established, working system. However, homage was
+still paid to the older 2.09 version since many users still employed its
+familiar syntax, although they were most likely to be using it in a \LaTeXe\
+environment. \LaTeX\ has now reached a degree of stability that since 2000
+the regular updates have been reduced to annual events, which often appear
+months after the nominal date, something that does not worry anyone. The old
+version 2.09 is obsolete and should no longer play any role in such a manual.
+In this fourth edition, it is reduced to an appendix just to document its
+syntax and usage.
+
+But if \LaTeX\ itself has not changed substantially since 1999, many of its
+peripherals have. The rise of programs like `pdf\TeX' and `dvipdfm' for
+PDF output adds new possibilities, which are realized, not in \LaTeX\
+directly, but by means of more modern `packages' to extend the basic
+features. The distribution of \TeX/\LaTeX\ installations has changed, such
+that most users are given a complete, ready-to-run setup, with all the
+`extras' that one used to have to obtain oneself. Those extras include
+user-contributed packages, many of which are now considered indispensable.
+Today `the \LaTeX\ system' includes much more than the basic kernel by Leslie
+Lamport, encompassing the contributions of hundreds of other people. This
+edition reflects this increase in breadth.
+
+\section[The Changes]{The Changes in Detail}
+The changes to the fourth edition are mainly those of emphasis.
+
+1. The material has been reorganized into `Basics' and `Beyond the Basics'
+ (`advanced' sounds too intimidating) while the appendices contain
+ topics that really can be skipped by most everyday users. Exception:
+ Appendix H is an alphabetized command summary that many
+ people find extremely useful (including ourselves).
+
+ This reorganizing is meant to stress certain aspects over others. For
+ example, the section on graphics inclusion and color was originally
+ treated as an exotic freak, relegated to an appendix on extensions; in the
+ third edition, it moved up to be included in a front chapter along with the
+ picture environment and floats; now it dominates
+ Chapter 6 all on its own, the floats come in the following
+ Chapter 7, and `picture' is banished to the later
+ Chapter 13. This is not to say that the picture features are no good,
+ but only that they are very specialized. We add
+ descriptions of additional drawing possibilities there too.
+
+2. It is stressed as much as possible that \LaTeX\ is a markup language,
+ with separation of content and form. Typographical settings
+ should be placed in the preamble, while the body contains only logical
+ markup. This is in keeping with the modern ideas of XML, where form and
+ content are radically segregated.
+
+3. Throughout this edition, contributed packages are explained at that point
+ in the text where they are most relevant. The `fancyhdr' package
+ comes in the section on page styles, `natbib' where literature
+ citations are explained. This stresses that these `extensions' are part of
+ the \LaTeX\ system as a whole. However, to remind the user that they must
+ still be explicitly loaded, a marginal note is placed at the start of their
+ descriptions.
+
+4. PDF output is taken for granted throughout the book, in addition to the
+ classical DVI format. This means that the added possibilities of `pdf\TeX'
+ and `dvipdfm' are explained where they are relevant. A separate
+ Chapter 10 on PostScript and PDF is still necessary, and the
+ best interface to PDF output, the `hyperref' package by Sebastian
+ Rahtz, is explained in detail. PDF is also included in
+ Chapter 15 on presentation material
+
+ On the other hand, the other Web output formats, HTML and XML, are only
+ dealt with briefly in Appendix E, since these are large topics
+ treated in other books, most noticeably the `\LaTeX\ Web Companion'.
+
+5. This book is being distributed with the \TeX Live CD, with the kind
+ permission of Sebastian Rahtz who maintains it for the \TeX\ Users Group.
+ It contains a full \TeX\ and \LaTeX\ installation for Windows, Macintosh,
+ and Linux, plus many of the myriad extensions that exist.
+
+We once again express our hope that this \textsl{Guide} will prove more than
+useful to all those who wish to find their way through the intricate world of
+\LaTeX. And with the addition of the \TeX Live CD, that world is brought even
+closer to their doorsteps.
+