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What is Markdown? A Super Simple Way to Format Text
Have you ever wanted to make your writing look nice and organized without having to learn complicated computer code? That’s where Markdown comes in! It’s a super simple way to format text using plain characters, so it’s easy to read and write. Think of it like using special symbols to tell your computer how to display your words.
Why is Markdown so Popular?
Markdown is popular because it’s easy to use and doesn’t require fancy software. Bloggers love it, developers use it for documentation, and anyone who wants to write quickly and clearly can benefit from it. All you need is a simple text editor, like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac.
The History of Markdown: A Quick Story
Back in 2004, a tech blogger named John Gruber (who runs a blog about Apple products) teamed up with Aaron Swartz to create Markdown. They wanted an easy way to format text without having to write HTML code (that’s the code that makes websites work). They took inspiration from old-school email formatting, where people used asterisks (*) and underscores (_) to emphasize words.
Originally, Markdown was a small program written in Perl (a computer language). But now, there are Markdown tools and libraries for almost every computer language out there!
Basic Markdown: Let’s Get Started!
Markdown files are just plain text files. The magic happens when you use special characters to format the text. Let’s look at some examples:
- Paragraphs: Just write your text! To start a new paragraph, leave a blank line.
- Emphasis:
- Italics: Use *asterisks* or _underscores_.
- Bold: Use **double asterisks** or __double underscores__.
- Strikethrough: Use ~~double tildes~~. (Note: This might not work everywhere!)
Making Headings: Like Titles and Subtitles
Want to create headings to organize your writing? Use hash marks (#) at the beginning of a line:
# This is a main heading ## This is a subheading ### This is a smaller subheading
Adding Links: Connecting to the Web
Links are super important! Here’s how to add them in Markdown: [The text you want to link](the actual web address). For example: [My favorite website](https://www.example.com).
You can also just put the web address in angle brackets, like this: <https://www.example.com>.
Showing Pictures: Making it Visual
Adding images is similar to adding links, but you put an exclamation mark (!) at the beginning: . For example: . If you want the image without any description, you can simply use: !(https://www.example.com/cat.jpg)
Making Lists: Organizing Your Thoughts
Markdown makes it easy to create lists:
- Unordered lists (with bullet points): Use *, +, or – at the beginning of each line.
- Ordered lists (with numbers): Use 1., 2., 3., etc. (Markdown will automatically number them correctly!).
* First item
* Second item
* Sub-item
1. First item
2. Second item
Quoting People: Indented Blocks
To create an indented block or quote, use a > symbol at the start of the line.
> This is a quote. >> This is a quote within a quote!
Showing Code: For the Techies
If you want to display code, use three backticks (“`) before and after the code block:
``` This is a code block. It will be displayed as is. ```
What’s Markdown Good For?
Markdown is great for:
- Writing blog posts
- Creating documentation for software projects
- Writing notes
- Formatting messages on platforms like Discord and Slack
- Creating simple websites
What Markdown Can’t Do (Without Help)
Markdown is simple, but it has some limitations. It doesn’t handle:
- Complex tables (though some extensions add this)
- Footnotes (again, some extensions add this)
- Fancy formatting options (like controlling the exact font or colors)
Markdown Flavors: Adding Extra Features
Because Markdown is so basic, people have created “flavors” of Markdown that add extra features. These flavors are like adding spices to a dish to make it more interesting.
- CommonMark: Aims to standardize Markdown so it works the same everywhere.
- GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM): Adds features specific to GitHub, like tables and task lists.
- MultiMarkdown: Adds features for writing scientific papers and books, like tables, footnotes, and citations.
My Thoughts, from John the Veteran Writer
I’ve been using Markdown for years, and I love how it lets me focus on the content of my writing without getting bogged down in formatting. It’s a great tool for anyone who wants to write quickly and clearly.
Lila’s thoughts:
As a beginner, I was initially intimidated by all the different formatting options out there. But Markdown makes it so easy and straightforward! I feel like I can finally focus on my writing instead of struggling with complicated software.
This article is based on the following original source, summarized from the author’s perspective:
What is Markdown? Lightweight text formatting for human
beings
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