11 May 2008

Proper paper formatting with Latex and IEEEtran

Many scientific papers use Latex for formatting. There exists a Latex class called IEEEtran which "produce high quality typeset papers" (example here). Besides from being nice, it is also a requirement for many conferences/journals to submit papers using this class. But how do we install it on Ubuntu/Debian?

I re-installed one of my workstation with Ubuntu 8.04 here the other day. On it, I also need Latex with the IEEEtran class. To my surprise, installing it was easier than I though:

First we install the required Latex packages:

  # apt-get install texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-recommended texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-pictures texlive-science texlive-science texlive-latex-extra

Now, instead of manually installing the IEEEtran class, its already available in apt:

  # apt-get install texlive-publishers texlive-publishers-doc

Installed with documentation! Full read here:

  $ evince /usr/share/doc/texlive-publishers-doc/latex/IEEEtran/IEEEtran_HOWTO.pdf

and

  $ evince /usr/share/doc/texlive-publishers-doc/latex/IEEEtran/IEEEtran_bst_HOWTO.pdf

Now its just to install Emacs with my favorite Latex-mode:

  # apt-get install emacs23 auctex emacs23-el

Ready for writing!