Full LaTeX on tablet devices

Question

I would like to know if there is a tablet device (iPad, Nexus...etc) on that one can install a full LaTeX environment. By "full", I mean that:

One can produce (compile successfully) from any `.tex` file the dvi or PDF file.
If any package is missing, one can install it manually (or better automatically, as MikTeX).

After searching on Google, it seems to me that there is no such tablet device. Most of LaTeX editors on tablet device requires internet connection (compile .tex on a server). In this post http://tex.blogoverflow.com/2012/09/i-tex-therefore-ipad-reloaded/, the author mentioned that TeX Writer (UK store) (for iOS) doesn't require internet connection. But it looks like it is just an latex editor. I don't know how it works with LaTex. (Does it provide a mini-latex environment or something else?).

ps. Of course I don't want to type .tex file on a tablet device for a long time. But sometimes I may need to modify an existing .tex file (eg. when I find some errors in my paper).

Answer 1

Texpad developers here. The answer is yes - you can do this on the iPad with Texpad. Texpad for iOS has had a built in LaTeX typesetter, no internet connection required. Most commonly used LaTeX packages are now included, and we expand the distribution with every update (9 updates in the past three months), and it is now so good that one user edits LaTeX on his Mac and typesets on his iPhone because the distribution is leaner, simpler and faster.

PGF drivers are underway right now and the update with local TikZ/Beamer typesetting should be ready for download in Feburary.

In addition to the onboard typesetter, we still provide free cloud typesetting servers with the entirety of TexLive 2012 installed. If you have any further questions, email us at support@vallettaventures.com.

Answer 2

I wrote an app to meet this need on my Android. It can also output PDFs. It renders TeX in real time.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.TeXEditor.TeXEditor_full

Answer 3

This answer only concerns the iPad.

I'm not going to reproduce my blog post (already linked in the question) as it is still relevant. I'll highlight a couple of points directly related to your question.

One can produce (compile successfully) from any .tex file the dvi or PDF file.

Taking the "any" at face value, the answer is "Not yet". There are (at time of writing) two iPad applications that can compile a tex document on the iPad without needing internet connectivity. One of those is TeX Writer, the other is TeXPad. Neither can compile any tex document. TeX Writer currently uses unadulterated TeX, meaning that it doesn't have the e-TeX extensions and produces DVI (which it then converts to PDF). So anything that uses the e-TeX extensions does not currently compile (nor XeTeX nor LuaTeX). TeXPad is based on KerTeX about which I know very little.

But with that taken into account - and with the knowledge that they are both in their infancy - it is now possible to compile documents directly on an iPad with no internet connection. Both come with the LaTeX format, TeX Writer also includes a plain TeX format.

If any package is missing, one can install it manually (or better automatically, as MikTeX).

Both of these applications allow installation of packages, neither is automatic.

Answer 4

Just have a look here: TexPortal. This is an App for Android which runs on my Nexus 7 without the need for root and an internet connection. I didn't try to compile very complex documents but for some of my simple business letters it works perfectly. Keep in mind this is only the compiler not an editor! The sources and the installation guide you can find here: https://github.com/anhoavu/TeXPortal.