| layout | index |
|---|
Markdown is formatting syntax that is lightweight, easy to write and easy to read. It's main goal is to be as readable as possible as plain text:
"The overriding design goal for Markdown’s formatting syntax is to make it as readable as possible. 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. While Markdown’s syntax has been influenced by several existing text-to-HTML filters, the single biggest source of inspiration for Markdown’s syntax is the format of plain text email." - John Gruber
Various libraries are available to convert markdown into structurally valid XHTML. This makes it possible to produce rich text documents in a syntax that's nearly as powerful as HTML, but much easier to use.
Markdown was originally authored by John Gruber and Alex Swartz and is officially hosted at John Grubers site.
Markdown rose in popularity after Github implemented it and since then many other sites have followed.
The markdown community hopes to use this site and its associated Github account to be a better parent to Markdown. It will be a central location for information on markdown and will help move markdown forwards and into maturity.