Matplotlib - What is LaTeX?

LaTeX is a typesetting system widely used for producing scientific and technical documents, particularly in disciplines such as mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering and academic writing. It's highly regarded for its superior typesetting of complex mathematical equations, scientific notations, and structured text formatting.

Key Aspects of LaTeX

The below are the key aspects of LaTeX.

Markup Language

LaTeX is a markup language, meaning it uses commands and tags to format text rather than WYSIWYG which is abbreviated as What You See Is What You Get editors. Users write plain text with embedded commands that specify the structure and formatting.

High-Quality Typesetting

LaTeX excels in producing professional-looking documents with precise typographical and typesetting features. It handles complex structures like mathematical formulas, tables, bibliographies and cross-references exceptionally well.

Package System

LaTeX offers a vast array of packages that extend its functionality for specific tasks or document types, providing templates, styles and additional features.

Free and Open Source

LaTeX is free to use and is supported by a strong open-source community by ensuring continuous development and a rich ecosystem of packages and resources.

Components of LaTeX

The LaTex of matplotlib library have the following components. Let’s see each of them in detail.

Document Class

The document class specifies the type of document being created and defines its overall structure, layout and formatting. It acts as a template that sets the style and behavior for the entire document. Different document classes are available to suit various types of documents such as articles, reports, books, presentations and more.

Preamble

In LaTeX the preamble is the section of the document that precedes the main content and the \begin{document} command. It is where we define the document settings, load packages, set parameters and configure global settings that apply to the entire document. The preamble acts as a setup area where we prepare LaTeX for processing the main body of the document.

Document Body

The document body in LaTeX is the main section where the content of our document resides. It starts after the preamble and the \begin{document} command and continues until the \end{document} command. This section includes the actual text, sections, subsections, equations, figures, tables and any other elements that constitute the core content of the document.

Advantages of LaTeX

The following are the advantages of LaTex.

Quality Typesetting − Produces high-quality output, especially for scientific and technical documents.
Cross-Referencing − Simplifies referencing and cross-referencing of equations, figures, tables, and sections.
Version Control − Facilitates version control and collaboration through plain text-based files.
Customization − Allows extensive customization of document styles, layouts and formatting.

Disadvantages of LaTeX

Learning Curve − Requires learning its syntax and commands which can be daunting for beginners.

Limited WYSIWYG − Lack of immediate visual feedback (WYSIWYG) might be challenging for some users accustomed to graphical editors.

Usage of LaTeX

Academic Writing − Academic papers, theses, dissertations
Scientific − Scientific reports, articles, and journals
Technical Documents − Technical documentation, manuals
Presentations − Presentations using tools like Beamer

Basic document structure of the LaTex

Syntax

A basic LaTeX document structure includes −

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\section{Introduction}
This is a simple LaTeX document.
\subsection{Subsection}
Some text in a subsection.
\end{document}

The above code defines a basic article document with a hierarchical structure comprising a section and a subsection.

LaTeX is a powerful tool for producing structured, high-quality documents especially in technical and academic fields. While it has a learning curve its ability to handle complex mathematical notations and produce professional-looking documents makes it a preferred choice for many researchers, academics and professionals.

Write our own LaTeX preamble

To write our own LaTeX preamble in Matplotlib we can use this example as reference.

Example 1

import numpy as np
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = [7.50, 3.50]
plt.rcParams["figure.autolayout"] = True
x = np.linspace(-10, 10, 100)
y = np.exp(x)
plt.plot(x, y, color='red', label="$y=e^{x}$")
plt.legend(loc='upper right')
plt.show()

Output

On executing the above code you will get the following output −

Latex formula in the legend of a plot using Matplotlib inside a .py file

In this example we are using the Latex formula in the legend of a plot inside a .py file.

Example 2

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = [7.50, 3.50]
plt.rcParams["figure.autolayout"] = True
x = np.linspace(1, 10, 1000)
y = np.sin(x)
plt.plot(x, y, label=r'$\sin (x)$', c="red", lw=2)
plt.legend()
plt.show()

Output

On executing the above code you will get the following output −

Put a little more complex equation in the label, for example, label=r'αiπ+1=0'

Now, look at the legend at the top-right corner of the plot.

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