: What software is good for writing a technical book? I must write a book for the university and I am looking for software. The style that I want is like the books of O'Reilly, Apress or Packt.

I must write a book for the university and I am looking for software. The style that I want is like the books of O'Reilly, Apress or Packt.

I need:

Insert a table of contents (automatic).
Divide and numerate chapters.
Insert code. Highlighting (automatic).
Insert formulas
Insert notes, warning boxes...
Insert elements: images, schemas, tables
Insert a table of figures/images (automatic).
Insert a index (automatic).
Custom design: custom layout, fonts, colors...
Export document: PDF, HTML.

Software/tools that I have considered:

Microsoft Word
A markdown editor
LaTeX
Adobe InDesign

Inconveniences that I have found:

MS Word is hard for hightligh syntax (?)
Markdown editors are limited for complex structures (?)

I haven't used LaTeX and InDesign.

Which is the more appropriate software/tools for write a tech book?

Note: I don't have reputation enough for tag correctly this question.

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: Is it bad to include subplots that don't push the story forward? I want to add a few chapters that don't push the story forward; they only explore the background and motivations of the characters.

@Goswami879

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: You first described it as "set in the late 1920s", and then later said you were "writing pseudo-historically in an alternate universe". I'm not bringing this up to nit-pick your question

@Goswami879

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: How do you know when there's something missing in your story? You always hear about what has to be removed. Usually unnecessary stuff that doens't contribute to the plot. How about the opposite?

@Goswami879

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: Writing "X, Y, and Z" vs "X and Y and Z." Example: The forest was so dense I was practically swimming through it. A dark, murky ocean of shrubs, trees, and bamboo shoots. The

@Goswami879

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@Lengel543

If you want a book to look like O'Reilly books, perhaps try DockBook, a system developed by that publisher.

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@Jessie137

LaTeX is the way to go. MS Word has improved a lot since the beginning (at least, so I'v been told, because I personally don't use it), but for equations and few other things (e.g. microkerning) it cannot compete with LaTeX. Adobe InDesign is more for professional typographers than writers.

Typically publishers of technical books provide to their authors LaTeX classes which conform to the publisher's style; other, possibly customizable, book classes can be found in LaTeX distributions.

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: What software is good for writing a technical book? I must write a book for the university and I am looking for software. The style that I want is like the books of O'Reilly, Apress or Packt.

More posts by @Goswami879

: Is it bad to include subplots that don't push the story forward? I want to add a few chapters that don't push the story forward; they only explore the background and motivations of the characters.

: You first described it as "set in the late 1920s", and then later said you were "writing pseudo-historically in an alternate universe". I'm not bringing this up to nit-pick your question

: How do you know when there's something missing in your story? You always hear about what has to be removed. Usually unnecessary stuff that doens't contribute to the plot. How about the opposite?

: Writing "X, Y, and Z" vs "X and Y and Z." Example: The forest was so dense I was practically swimming through it. A dark, murky ocean of shrubs, trees, and bamboo shoots. The

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