Re: [Orgmode] Re: Writing a dissertation using org-mode

[Thomas S. Dye]

On Mar 4, 2010, at 4:02 AM, Maurizio Vitale wrote:

> I'd recommend you use auctex for writing your thesis: it knows about
> many LaTeX packages (and you can teach it more), so you get
> autocompletion and highlighting. It does quasi-wysiwyg for fonts and
> math. It can render fragments for quick checking and interface with
> external viewers. And it has some folding support, albeit not as  
> nice as
> org-mode's.
>
> Org-mode would basically give you three things:
>  - sectioning/folding
>  - todo lists
>  - simple tables
> Org-mode is wonderful for quickly taking notes and generate LaTeX/pdf
> out of them. But for a book/thesis you cannot beat auctex.
>
> Best regards,
>
>     Maurizio


Aloha Henri-Paul,

I think this is good advice for a thesis writer.  auctex, with the  
reftex plug-in, is a huge help.

The model I'm working with now for writing a book (still evolving as I  
learn org-mode and org-babel and try different things) has 3 parts:

1) The main body of the book, held in several tex files, typically one  
file per chapter.  A master tex file contains the memoir header, the  
includes, and the glossary, bibliography, and index paraphernalia.  I  
do almost all my writing in these files.

2) An org-mode file with a level one heading for each chapter,  
underneath which is a place for notes, todo items, random thoughts,  
and outline fragments.  Immediately beneath the level one heading is a  
link to the chapter tex file.  I use the org-mode file to keep track  
of what I've finished and what still needs work.  This is a tremendous  
help when I have to put the work down for a while and then pick it up  
again.  I'm back up to speed in short order.

3) Several org-babel LaTeX code blocks and noweb references to the  
output from statistical analyses mostly in R and carried out in org- 
babel.  These are mostly descriptive sections and the benefit of  
writing them this way is that they track changes in the database as I  
augment observations or spot data entry errors while writing.  These  
are exported to tex files that are referenced in the master tex file.

4) Compiling my book is a three-step process (ignoring for the moment  
the bibliography, glossary, and index).  First, re-run the statistical  
analyses in org-babel.  Second, run org-babel-tangle on the org-mode  
file to refresh the output of the org-babel LaTeX code blocks.  Lastly  
compile to pdf with auctex.

I'll be interested to learn how you end up writing your thesis with  
LaTeX and org-mode.

HTH,
Tom