12/27/2023 0 Comments Markdown tabs![]() It looks better, though, and ensures universal compatibility. A space after a list item delimiter ( -, *, +, or 1.) is required by most processors, but a space after hashmarks in headlines usually isn’t. One overall problem in Markdown 1.0’s syntax is that it isn’t clear when you need blank lines to separate block-level constructs.ĭon’t forget about spaces, either. Use an empty line after headlines, between paragraphs, and before and after code/verbatim blocks and other block elements. You wouldn’t see a word processor jam a paragraph on a line immediately after a headline or another paragraph, so why would you do it in a text file? Those blank lines don’t cost you anything, and it makes your text vastly easier to scan and read. You can test any syntax across the most common processors using Babelmark, and if there’s ever a question as to why something is working in one place and not another, it’s the best place to start an investigation.Įmpty lines visually separate paragraphs, headlines, and other elements. The following guidelines will serve writers well across any flavor of Markdown, and provide portability between them. Ambiguous formatting without recognizing the general rules, though, is just shooting yourself in the foot. It’s fine to make use of the latter, as long as you’re aware of what won’t work elsewhere. centering with ~, fenced code with backticks or tildes, strikethrough characters). Messes happen because some processors are more lax than others about formatting (preserving line breaks, allowing 2-space indentation, different interpretations of unescaped emphasis markers, etc.), or provide a syntax for elements which aren’t universal (e.g. This post isn’t about proposing any standard or new flavors, it’s just about common sense guidelines that allow you to work with any processor. As long as users are aware of potential compatibility issues, they can decide for themselves how much of a mess to make when working with any given processor. However, I love that Markdown has been extended and tweaked for specific purposes, and I take a “personal responsibility” stance on the syntax. Many users learn a syntax particular to a specific processor, and then face disappointment when their documents don’t render properly elsewhere. A common knowledge of what’s standard is useful. As a developer whose primary application is Markdown-based, at least 50% of my customer support involves explaining Markdown syntax and differences between flavors. The negative reactions to the idea seem primarily summed up as “you’re not my real dad.” People seemed more offended by the approach than the spec. ![]() Its goal is stricter handling of ambiguities in the syntax, and it’s a justifiable one. The CommonMark project aims to clarify a lot of the things I’m about to mention. Well-formatted text is not only more readable, it’s more future-proof, and following a set of rules derived from the original spec means better portability. Some add syntax to accomplish more advanced output control, but the design goal typically remains the same. I work with many different “flavors” of Markdown that have branched off since Markdown 1.0. The idea is that a Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it’s been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. The overriding design goal for Markdown’s formatting syntax is to make it as readable as possible. As John Gruber stated in his original introduction of the Markdown project:
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