Introduction
LaTeX is a text-based tool and system for creating documents.
Instead of focusing on appearance, you write by specifying the role of each part of the text, such as “this is a heading,” “this is body text,” or “this is a mathematical formula.”
By specifying only these roles, LaTeX automatically handles visual formatting such as font size, layout, and line spacing.
As a result, even if the document grows longer or is revised later, the overall layout is less likely to break.
LaTeX is commonly used for the following types of documents:
- Documents containing many mathematical formulas, such as those in mathematics or physics
- University reports and academic papers
- Technical books and manuals
- Documents with strict formatting or layout requirements
Comparing LaTeX and Markdown Syntax (Basics)
Since the discussion so far has been somewhat abstract, let’s look at a simple example to compare Markdown and LaTeX.
# Heading (Markdown)
This is an example of writing a heading in Markdown. The same heading written in LaTeX would look like this:
\section{Heading (LaTeX)}
LaTeX also uses the term “section” to define headings, so even without prior knowledge of LaTeX, it should be relatively easy to understand what this syntax does.
Comparing LaTeX and Markdown Syntax (Advanced: Footnotes and Citations)
So far, we have only looked at simple examples.
Next, let’s examine a slightly more advanced case that includes document structure and annotations.
First, here is an example of writing headings and footnotes in Markdown:
# 1. Introduction
## 1.1 Background
This is an example sentence.[^1]
[^1]: Footnote content
The same content written in LaTeX would look like this:
\section{Introduction}
\subsection{Background}
This is an example sentence`\footnote{Footnote content}`.
As you can see, \subsection can be used in much the same way as \section, so even for first-time LaTeX users, this syntax should not feel particularly difficult.
When document-level reference management is required, LaTeX uses a citation mechanism that is separate from footnotes.
The following example shows how to write a citation:
This is an example sentence\cite{example1984}.
This kind of \cite{example1984} syntax assumes the use of BibTeX (or biblatex) to manage references.
By assigning a key (for example, example1984) to each reference and simply referring to it in the text, LaTeX can automatically handle numbering and ordering.
This approach allows references to be centrally managed even as they are added or removed.
Therefore, LaTeX is particularly useful for long documents that are revised frequently.
On the other hand, for short and simple documents, Markdown is often more than sufficient.
Comparing LaTeX and Markdown Syntax (Mathematical Expressions)
Next, let’s look at an example of writing mathematical expressions, which is one of LaTeX’s strongest features.
In LaTeX, mathematical formulas can be written naturally as follows:
\[
\int_0^1 x^2 \, dx
\]
Support for mathematical expressions is built into LaTeX, so no special configuration is required to render them correctly.
In contrast, Markdown does not include mathematical notation as part of its standard syntax.
To display the same expression as a mathematical formula in Markdown, you need extensions such as MathJax or KaTeX.
When such extensions are available, many renderers (such as GitHub or Obsidian) use the $$ ... $$ notation:
$$
\int_0^1 x^2 \, dx
$$
Even in this case, the content inside is still LaTeX mathematical syntax.
In other words, Markdown itself does not understand mathematics, it merely embeds LaTeX expressions for rendering.
For this reason, when a document contains many mathematical formulas, LaTeX is generally a more integrated and stable choice.
Conclusion
I recently had the opportunity to work with LaTeX a little, and I wrote this article partly as a personal memo.
I usually write documents in Markdown, and I am still very much a beginner when it comes to LaTeX.
For that reason, this article intentionally focuses only on the basics.
If you found the content insufficient, I recommend you to explore further on your own. There are many resources on the internet, like online playgrounds, editors such as Overleaf and Papeeria and etc.
By experimenting hands-on and seeing how different syntax is rendered, your understanding of LaTeX will deepen.
Thank you for reading!
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