Windows
As I was recently asked, here is what I typically install for people looking for a reasonable LaTeX environment in Windows:
- MikTeX (Select the Basic MikTeX installer option)
- Ghostscript
- TeXnicCenter
Another Open Source option for a cross-platform LaTeX IDE is Texmaker. It’s smaller but doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as TeXnicCenter.
Linux
On Linux, Kile seems to be the LaTeX IDE of choice. I’m a LaTeX wimp, so I use LyX and TexMacs. The following gives you a fairly complete LaTeX environment in Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get update && sudo aptitude install texlive-base \
lyx kile texmacs texlive-bibtex-extra texlive-binaries \
texlive-common texlive-doc-base texlive-extra-utils \
texlive-fonts-recommend texlive-formats-extra \
texlive-generic-extra texlive-generic-recommended \
texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-recommended \
texlive-plain-extra texlive-pstricks texlive-math-extra
Mac
On the Mac, start with the absolutely huge MacTeX distribution. It includes pretty much everything you’ll need.
