The editors described are the following:
LaTeX is a macro package which enables authors to typeset and print their work at the highest typographical quality, using a professional layout. LaTeX was originally written by Leslie Lamport. It uses the TeX formatter as its typesetting engine.
An easy to use guide on LaTeX is "The Not So Short Introduction to L A T E X2". It contains all what is needed for a beginner and it can be used as a reference manual as well.
An on-line help for LaTeX is available through Debian.
On the plus side, Unix text editors have lots of features, such as auto-indentation and syntax highlighting, that make them idea for writing scripts, programs, and HTML pages.
Text Editors available on Linux Systems are the following:
vi
Non-graphical (terminal-based) editor. Guaranteed to be available on
any system. Requires knowledge of arcane keystroke commands. Distinctly
unfriendly to novices. A Reference Manual written
by Christopher C. Taylor gives the basics to get started.
emacs
Window-based editor. Primitive menus make it slightly more friendly
to novices. Still need to know keystroke commands to use. Installed on
all Linux distributions and on most other Unix systems.
xemacs
More sophisticated version of emacs, but usually not installed by default.
All common commands are available from menus; however the user interface
is still confusing at first. Very powerful editor, with built-in syntax
checking, Web-browsing, news-reading, manual-page browsing, etc.
pico
Simple terminal-based editor available on most versions of Unix. Uses
keystroke commands, but they are listed in logical fashion at bottom of
screen.
To find information on how to use those editors, the user can use the command "man [editor name]" into the Unix environment. The simple to use of these editors is pico.
An extensive collection of materials and procedure is available on the web site of the OceanWave Consulting or at the UCLA Advanced Technology Services.