Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain text formatting syntax designed so that it can be converted to HTML and many other formats using a tool by the same name. Markdown is often used to format readme files, for writing messages in online discussion forums and to create rich text using a plain text editor.
Markdown uses a very simple formatting syntax to accomplish the same thing that HTML or Rich Text Formatting does. The difference is that it’s simpler than HTML and you don’t have to worry about opening and closing tags. It also doesn’t have all of the menus associated with most text editing programs. To format text, Markdown uses punctuation and characters you’re already familiar with.
Here’s a quick example: first the source text that you would add to your file, then as it appears when rendered as html.
An h1 header
============
Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.
2nd paragraph. *Italic*, **bold**, and `monospace`. Itemized lists look like:
* this one
* second one
An h1 header
Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.
2nd paragraph. Italic, bold, and monospace. Itemized lists look like:
- this one
- second one