Context
To understand advantages of markdown languages, we should first understand markup language and their limitations. html is the most popular markup language. SGML and and XML are two other popular markup languages.
Either it is markup or markdown we need to have scope for couple of types of text.
- text that is content. Think of it like actual text that you read on a screen. media is a special case and we can discuss that later.
- text that is required for layout or display related.
- text that is meta data. alt text, seo tags etc
to support these markup languages majorly uses tags. the tags themselves contribute to how some text should be displayed. the text between the tags is the actual text that should be shown. the props in the tags generally are used for metadata
learn the basics
learn the basics quickly - https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/markdown/
a good editor for quick preview - https://stackedit.io/app#
react editor for markdown - https://github.com/remarkjs/react-markdown#use-custom-components-syntax-highlight
References
- https://twitter.com/TfTHacker/status/1440357448762605570?s=19
- https://twitter.com/tallguyjenks/status/1440384441898000399?s=19
Why Developers Prefer Markdown Over Markup
Markdown is widely preferred by developers for its simplicity and efficiency in writing and managing text. Unlike traditional markup languages (e.g., HTML), Markdown focuses on ease of use, readability, and portability.
Comparison of Markdown and Markup
Feature | Markdown | Markup (e.g., HTML) |
---|---|---|
Ease of Use | Simple syntax, easy to learn and use | Complex, verbose syntax |
Readability | Highly readable in raw format | Less readable without rendering |
Learning Curve | Minimal, beginner-friendly | Steeper learning curve |
Usage | Best for quick documentation, notes | Best for complex web structures |
Tools Required | Any text editor | Specialized IDEs or editors recommended |
Extensibility | Limited, focuses on simplicity | Highly extensible and customizable |
File Size | Lightweight | Can be larger due to verbose syntax |
Output | Easily converts to HTML, PDF, etc. | Outputs structured web content directly |
Markdown vs Other Options
Feature | Markdown | HTML | LaTeX | WYSIWYG Editors |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ease of Use | Easy to use | Moderately complex | Complex | Very easy |
Readability | Excellent | Moderate | Poor | Excellent |
Learning Curve | Low | Medium | High | None |
Best Use Case | Documentation, blogs | Websites | Academic papers | Casual content |
Rendering Support | Wide | Universal | Specialized software | Built-in |
Customization | Minimal | High | Extremely high | Limited |
Why Markdown?
Markdown strikes a balance between
Referenced in:
- Obsidian-Todos
- Links
- High-Value-TODOs
- Most-important-project-I-am-working-on
- mermaid-syntax
- metadata
- Obsidian