What is it? And who is it for?

Markdown is a markup language created by John Gruber. It was designed to be easy to create readable scripts that can be converted to HTML. The only thing you need is a simple text editor such as notepad for Windows or TextEdit for Mac. Text files are easy to use editors because they are simple and to the point thus eliminating most, if not all, distractions making the user a force for productivity. Plus, all text files can be read using any computer system without a glitch. Markdown is also perfect for writing a blog post without the hassle of learning HTML. People have also used Markdown for organizing their notes, creating to-do lists, creating presentations and much more.

Here are a few basic rules in order to get started:

Headings

# This is a First-level heading

## This is a Second-level heading

### This is a Third- level heading

#### This is a Fourth-level heading

##### This is a Fifth-level heading

###### This is a Sixth- level heading

In HTML:

<h1>This is a First-level heading</h1>
<h2>This is a Second-level heading</h2>
<h3>This is a Third-level heading </h3>
<h4>This is a Fourth-level heading</h4>
<h5> This is a Fifth-level heading</h5>
<h6>This is a Sixth-level heading</h6>

Paragraphs

A paragraph is one or more consecutive lines of the text separated by one or more blank lines. Normal paragraphs should not be indented with spaces or tabs.

O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!

Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?

Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical!

In HTML:

<p> O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!
    Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?
    Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical! </p>

Unordered List

Bullet List/unordered list can be created using *asterisk, +plus signs or -minus signs interchangeable as well.

(Note: Place three spaces from the *, + or -)

Ex:

*   Goat

+   Milk

–  Banana

*   Eggs

In HTML:

<ul> 
     <li> Goat   </li>
     <li> Milk   </li>
     <li> Banana </li>
     <li> Eggs   </li>

</ul>

Ordered list

(Note: Similar to the unordered list, items need to be at least three spaces from their respective numbers in order to be able to format correctly.)

1.   Eggs

2.   Ham

3.   Milk

In HTML:

<ol>
      <li> Eggs </li>
      <li> Ham  </li>
      <li> Milk </li>
</ol>

 Bold and Italics

*hello, world* italicized text

<i>hello, world</i>

**hello, world** boldface

 <b>hello, world</b>

Markdown Resources:

Here is an online converter and more syntax rules from the creator of Markdown

The Official website for Markdown: http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/dingus

More on the basics of Markdown:

http://lifehacker.com/5943320/what-is-markdown-and-why-is-it-better-for-my-to+do-lists-and-notes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown

https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet

https://help.github.com/articles/github-flavored-markdown

http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-and-tips/markdown-the-ins-and-outs/

Using Markdown with WordPress:

http://designshack.net/articles/html/mastering-markdown-30-resources-apps-and-tutorials-to-get-you-started/

Markdown Editors:

Here is a list of markdown converters. There are 75 of them listed here.

http://mashable.com/2013/06/24/markdown-tools/