Markdown is a light text markup format and a processor to convert that to HTML. The originator describes it as follows:

Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).

-- http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/

This project provides a converter written in Python that closely matches the behaviour of the original Perl-implemented Markdown.pl. There is another Python markdown.py (see link at right), but markdown2.py is faster (see PerformanceNotes) and, to my knowledge, more correct (see TestingNotes).

Basic Python Module Usage

>>> import markdown2
>>> markdown2.markdown("*boo!*")  # or use `html = markdown_path(PATH)`
u'<p><em>boo!</em></p>\n'

>>> markdowner = Markdown()
>>> markdowner.convert("*boo!*")
u'<p><em>boo!</em></p>\n'
>>> markdowner.convert("**boom!**")
u'<p><strong>boom!</strong></p>\n'

Basic Command-Line Usage

$ cat foo.txt
*boo!*
$ python markdown2.py foo.txt
<p><em>boo!</em></p>
$ python markdown2.py -h
...detailed command-line usage...