Markdown

Introduction

Markdown is a lightweight markup language that uses plain text formatting syntax. It’s designed to be easy to read and write, then convert to HTML or other formats. Unlike LaTeX, Markdown has a much simpler syntax and doesn’t require a compiler — most editors render it instantly.

For simpler documents that don't need LaTeX's full typesetting power, Markdown is a great choice. It also supports LaTeX math syntax (e.g., $x^2$, $$\int$$) in many tools including Obsidian, GitHub, and Jupyter.

Basic Syntax

Headings

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

Text Formatting

**Bold text**
*Italic text*
~~Strikethrough~~
==Highlighted text==
`Inline code`

Lists

- Unordered item
- Another item
  - Nested item
 
1. Ordered item
2. Second item
3. Third item

Links and Images

[Link text](https://example.com)
![Image alt text](image.png)
[[Wikilink to note]]          (Obsidian)
[[Note Name|Display Text]]   (Obsidian with custom text)

Blockquotes

> This is a blockquote
> Multiple lines

Code Blocks

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello, World!")
```

Tables

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

Math (LaTeX Syntax)

Markdown supports LaTeX math in many editors (Obsidian, GitHub, Jupyter):

Inline: $E = mc^2$
 
Block:
$$
\frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
$$
 
Sum: $\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}$

Diagrams (Mermaid)

Many Markdown editors support Mermaid for diagrams:

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Start] --> B{Decision}
    B -->|Yes| C[Do this]
    B -->|No| D[Do that]
```

graph TD
    A[Start] --> B{Decision}
    B -->|Yes| C[Do this]
    B -->|No| D[Do that]

Obsidian Flavored Markdown

Since this note is in Obsidian, here are Obsidian-specific features:

Callouts

> [!note]
> 
> Basic callout.
 
> [!tip] Custom Title
> 
> Callout with a custom title.
 
> [!faq]- Collapsed
> 
> Foldable callout (- collapsed, + expanded).

This is a note callout.

This is a tip callout.

Properties (Frontmatter)

---
title: My Note
date: 2026-04-09
tags:
  - markdown
  - guide
aliases:
  - Alternative Name
---

Tags

#tag                    Single tag
#nested/tag             Nested tag

Embeds

![[Other Note]]          Embed full note
![[Image.png]]           Embed image
![[Image.png|300]]      Embed with width

Footnotes

Text with footnote[^1].
 
[^1]: Footnote content.
 
Inline footnote.^[This is inline.]

Markdown vs LaTeX

Feature	Markdown	LaTeX
Syntax complexity	Simple	Complex
Compilation	None (instant render)	Required
Math support	Basic (via LaTeX)	Full
Typesetting quality	Good	Excellent
Learning curve	Low	High
Best for	Notes, docs, simple papers	Academic papers, complex documents

Tools that Support Markdown

• Obsidian — Notes, knowledge base (supports LaTeX, Mermaid)
• Jupyter Notebook — Data science notebooks
• GitHub/GitLab — README files, documentation
• VS Code — With Markdown extensions Markdown All in One
• Typora — WYSIWYG Markdown editor
• Notion — All-in-one workspace

Related Notes

• LaTeX — For complex documents requiring full typesetting
• VS-Code — Editor setup for Markdown/LaTeX