Markdown (md) is a lightweight, plain-text markup language designed for easy content creation and conversion. It uses simple text-based syntax to format documents, allowing writers to create structured content like headings, lists, links, and code blocks without complex HTML or rich text formatting. Markdown files are human-readable and can be easily converted to HTML, PDF, and other formats.
Highly readable, platform-independent, simple syntax, easy to learn, supports version control, converts to multiple formats, lightweight, minimal overhead, works well with plain text editors, and supports inline HTML for advanced formatting.
Limited formatting compared to rich text editors, inconsistent rendering across different platforms, lack of standardized advanced features, potential compatibility issues with complex layouts, and minimal support for complex tables and advanced styling.
Markdown is widely used in technical documentation, software development README files, blogging platforms, content management systems, and collaborative writing environments. Developers use it for project documentation, writers leverage it for web content, and platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and static site generators extensively support Markdown for creating and rendering content.