I use markdown to edit the posts in this blog, using the python markdown library. However, I discovered a nagging problem that will cause to me switch away, to something like ReST.
This is an issue that dates back to 2006, and it's very annoying for blogs. You can't put images inside links! This means that the often-used thumbnail image that links to the full-sized original image, has to be done in plain old HTML, which sucks.
Here's an example:
This should render the google logo linking to google:
[![the google logo][logo]][google]
[logo]: http://www.google.com/images/logo.gif
[google]: http://www.google.com/ "click to visit Google.com"
But instead it renders (Actual output):
[
][google]
Source
[<img src="http://www.google.com/images/logo.gif" alt="the google logo"/>][google]
(Taken from here)
Disclaimer: This is about the Python engine of markdown. Other implementations of markdown work fine, as far as I can tell.
So, should I just bite the bullet and switch to ReST ?
Comments
Comment by Mike Watkins , 6 years ago :
Unrelated, your "previews" are showing up in your RSS feeds, which you probably do not want. Visiting the page delivers links which are incorrect as well.
i.e.
Orestis Markou: My bookmarks on site
http://orestis.gr/en/blog/preview/10
Hey, put Markdown in comments too!
Comment by Orestis Markou , 6 years ago :
It is a known issue:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index....
he's very specific about not planning to fix it soon. I didn't read anything about it either in his page, or anywhere else where Django + Markdown are mentioned.
Regarding Previews: I got that, sorry.
Comment by Orestis Markou , 6 years ago :
Mike, when you say incorrect links, what do you mean ? You should get a redirect to a login page...
Comment by Nicola Larosa , 6 years ago :
> So, should I just bite the bullet and switch to ReST ?
In a word, yes.
Comment by Mike Watkins , 6 years ago :
Ok, point taken on the img link bug; there are a few things I find annoying about the Python implementation, as grateful as I am for it. On the plus side I use the TOC and footnote extensions frequently; on the minus side sometimes I find myself using the perl version to deal with certain docs. Valid Markdown sometimes is rendered differently across the two.
I think Markdown has its place. Its ideal for very short "documents" - most blog posts probably fit this markup language well. Its ideal when you have public users contributing who are not going to be experts in the use of your chosen markup language, such as for blog comments or simple comments or notes attached to a workflow item or something of that nature.
I'd never give ReST as a tool to public comment writers or infrequent ReST users because they are going to end up with warning messages galore showing up in their content through lack of familiarity with the syntax and format.
But despite using Markdown quite extensively, I find myself using ReST more and more. When doing complex docs its power can't be beat.
Comment by Jared Kuolt , 6 years ago :
I've been using ReST and Markdown for quite a while now. However, when I create my blog posts I write them in TextMate as Markdown, then convert to HTML, then put them online. I prefer to be explicit with the HTML I produce, plus I only really need to convert my text the once anyway.
Comment by Max Battcher , 6 years ago :
I'm getting to the point where I just about use reStructuredText just about everywhere.
Your post made me realize that I didn't know the reST syntax for what you described, but I was relieved to find that there was an easy way to do it...
.. image:: http://www.google.com/images/logo.gif
:alt: Google Logo
:target: http://www.google.com/
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Comment by Joshua Blount , 6 years ago :
Sounds like a perfect time for a bug report, if this is only a problem with the python version of markdown. Then you could help all the users.