
What is TeX
TeX is a typesetting language.
Instead of visually formatting your text, you type your manuscript text combined with commands in a plain text file.
You then run TeX to produce the final layout. Thus, in contrast to standard word processors,
the source (TeX commands) is a separate file that does not pretend to be a representation of the final typeset document,
and thus can be edited by any text editor. For example, \mathrm{e}^{i\pi}=-1
gives whereas
\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{CO}_{3}\stackrel{\mathrm{heat}}{\longrightarrow}\mathrm{H}_{2}\mathrm{O}+\mathrm{CO}_{2}
gives after processing .
Here are some links that we hope will help with further background:
The Pointers to Frequently Asked Questions document provides a brief general overview of the TeX system.
The Wikipedia encyclopedia article on TeX provides a somewhat more detailed overview.
The complete page from which this topic is inspired.