The beamer class is a LaTeX class that allows you to create a beamer presentation. It can also be used to create slides. It behaves similarly to other packages like Prosper, but has the advantage that it works together directly with pdflatex, but also with dvips.
Once you have installed the beamer class, the basic steps to create a beamer presentation are the following:
The beamer class has several useful features: You don't need any external programs to use it other than pdflatex, but it works also with dvips. You can easily and intuitively create sophisticated overlays. Finally, you can easily change the whole slide theme or only parts of it. The following code shows a typical usage of the class.
\documentclass{beamer}
\usepackage{beamerthemesplit}
\title{Example Presentation Created with the Beamer Package}
\author{Till Tantau}
\date{\today}
\begin{document}
\frame{\titlepage}
\section[Outline]{}
\frame{\tableofcontents}
\section{Introduction}
\subsection{Overview of the Beamer Class}
\frame
{
\frametitle{Features of the Beamer Class}
\begin{itemize}
\item<1-> Normal LaTeX class.
\item<2-> Easy overlays.
\item<3-> No external programs needed.
\end{itemize}
}
\end{document}
The following presentations were created using the beamer class: An example using many features, Example 2 (presentation version) and Example 2 (article version), an example having several parts, an example using Chinese fonts, and an example of a real talk. You can find the source code for them in the examples directory of the package.
For downloading the beamer class, go to the SourceForge summary page here. There you you can also submit bug reports, request new features to be implemented, download the documentation, join mail lists, and many other stuff.
You can find installation instructions in the User's Guide and also here.