¶ An introduction to Markdown
Markdown is a language that enables text formatting by inserting simple markers, like a pair of asterisks before and after a word. A Markdown interpreter identifies these markers and applies the corresponding formatting. In our example, it renders the word in bold. Markdown interpreters are now widely available, including in online and offline text editors, messaging programs, and web page generation software.
There are several reasons behind its popularity:
- Once you grasp a few basic markers, Markdown becomes the quickest way to write formatted text. It surpasses visual editors that require constant switching between keyboard and mouse to select formatting commands.
- Markdown documents remain simple text files that can be effortlessly opened by various programs, without being tied to a specific provider. As a result, writing in Markdown is absolutely free.
- Numerous excellent converters can "print" Markdown files into PDF, HTML for web pages, .docx, .pptx, and other formats. This allows for writing a document once and publishing it in different formats as needed.
- An associated benefit is that understanding Markdown well is sufficient to create documents, web pages, or presentations, without the need to learn specific programs for each format.
¶ AI4AL Repository's Markdown Editor
The Markdown editor implemented in the AI4AL repository enables users to write wiki content directly online and preview the output in real-time.
Another advantage it offers is a set of mouse-selectable buttons that allow users to insert the most commonly used Markdown commands when they can't recall the syntax at that moment.
The fastest way to learn the few Markdown commands you need to publish a nice and elegant page is to use the shortcut buttons provided in the interface: you will get an example of well-composed text with the right marker.
The preview of the page shown in real time to the right of the text you write uses a basic style that does not coincide with that of the site. It's just to confirm that you've used the right syntax. When you then save the page and return to viewing it, you will see it automatically published with the style adopted by the whole site. This is one of the great advantages of using Markdown: if at some point the style of the site changes, it will not be necessary to modify existing pages in any way and the changes will be applied automatically.
¶ Useful links
- How to create a page
- Markdown syntax