LaTeX2e (the new standard LaTeX)

LaTeX2e is a new version of the LaTeX package, prepared and supported by the LaTeX3 project team. It moved out of its test phase in June 1994, and is now the standard LaTeX; LaTeX 2.09 is no longer supported. New versions are released at (approximately) 6-monthly intervals; this does not mean the functionality is unstable, merely that the implementation is steadily being refined.

LaTeX2e is upwardly compatible with LaTeX 2.09, but has new features. In the latest (June 1996) release, these include:

• NFSS is part of the distribution.
• SliTeX is now merely a different document class, so that there is no longer a need for a separate format.
• Better control of floating environments, such as figures.
• There is a documented interface for package and class writers (though not yet for designers).
• The box commands have been enhanced, with e.g., options to specify the height of a minipage.
• Several standard commands are no longer fragile they can therefore be included in the argument of commands such as \caption without being protected.
• \newcommand can define commands with one optional argument; such commands are automatically robust.
• There is now a standard package for colour and graphics inclusion.