This guide is intended for people looking to get started or those just starting out with LaTeX.
LaTeX is a free typesetting program that can be used to produce publication quality documents. Unlike common word processing programs such as Microsoft's Word, that operate through a "what you see is what you get" process, LaTeX produces a document compiled from a code written by the user. This allows LaTeX to take care of much of the work when it comes to equation editing, creating tables, inserting figures, referencing, and many of the tedious processes associated with crafting and formatting a document.
Anyone creating long documents, publication quality work (articles, conference proceedings, books, etc...), papers containing many mathematical equations, or looking for a program other than Microsoft Word should consider trying LaTeX.
The getting started page provides information on how to install LaTeX [Getting Started: Installation], how to create a LaTeX document [Getting Started: Creating a document], and a simple sample document [Getting Started: A sample document]. Other pages in this guide provide links to resources for LaTeX users, templates for different LaTeX applications, exercises to help new users feel comfortable writing in the LaTeX environment, and an explanation of how to create a bibliography in LaTeX.