Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain-text formatting syntax. It is often used to format readme files, for writing messages in online discussion forums, and to create rich text using a plain text editor. The main advantage of Markdown is its simplicity. It is easy to learn and implement, and it produces clean and easy-to-read formatting.
Basics of Markdown
Headers
In Markdown, you can create headers by using the pound sign (#). The number of pound signs indicates the level of the header (up to six levels).
Lists
Markdown supports both ordered and unordered lists. To create a list item, you can use either numbers for an ordered list or dashes, asterisks, or plus signs for an unordered list.
Links
Creating links in Markdown is straightforward. You enclose the text you want to hyperlink in square brackets [ ], followed by the URL in parentheses ( ).
Emphasis
You can make text bold by enclosing it in double asterisks or double underscores. To italicize text, use single asterisks or single underscores.
Code Blocks
To create a code block in Markdown, you indent the text by four spaces or one tab. You can also use triple backticks to denote a code block.
Advanced Markdown Features
Tables
Markdown also allows you to create tables by using pipes (|) to separate columns and dashes (-) to create the table header.
Images
Adding images in Markdown is similar to adding links. Instead of hyperlinking text, you place an exclamation mark (!) before the square brackets and then provide the image URL in parentheses.