A macro package built on top of TeX. LaTeX implements a form of descriptive markup system, in which the user specifies the function of each piece of text (heading, paragraph, footnote, etc.) but not its printed appearance. The actual layout is defined in a collection of style files, thus ensuring uniformity of appearance and conformity to house style. LaTeX hides much of the complication of TeX from the user, and is widely used in the academic community as a way of producing typeset research papers and reports.