LaTeX is a document preparation system that was created by Leslie Lamport in the early 1980s. The system is based on TeX, a typesetting language that was developed by Donald Knuth in the late 1970s.
Leslie Lamport designed LaTeX to be a more user-friendly version of TeX, which was originally intended for use by computer scientists and mathematicians. LaTeX uses a markup language to define the structure and content of a document, making it easier for users to focus on the content of their document rather than the formatting.
LaTeX quickly gained popularity among academics and researchers, particularly in the fields of mathematics, physics, and computer science, due to its ability to easily typeset complex mathematical equations and scientific notation.
Over the years, LaTeX has undergone many updates and revisions, with new features and packages added to the system to meet the evolving needs of its users. In addition to its use in academia, LaTeX has also been adopted by publishers and businesses for document preparation.
Several popular LaTeX editors have been developed over the years, including TeXShop, TeXworks, and Texmaker, which provide a graphical interface for users to write and edit LaTeX documents. Many of these editors also include features such as syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and built-in PDF viewers.
Today, LaTeX continues to be widely used by academics, researchers, and professionals in a variety of fields, and its popularity shows no signs of waning.