Course Outline
Your instructors:
Dan Lewis
School of Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
lucentdan@gmail.com
Jason Kuruzovich
Lally School of Management
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
jkuruzovich@gmail.com
A markup language uses a command syntax inline with the content of a document. You are probably most familiar with HTML, but there are others.
These languages can be challenging to use if you are starting out or if you are not used to programming. HTML, in partcular, looks more like computer code then what you (ultimately) want to see on a webpage. This is off-putting for content developers.
Attitudes now favor writing the content of documents so that they are human readable, and then permitting software (that other people write) to transform your document into something that looks different (usually nicer or more professional) or displays the content in a different type of software where the software controls the formatting. LaTeX is a very mature example of a markup language that scientists and engineers use to prepare formal reports and journal articles.
For the most part, a LaTeX document can easily be read by a non-LaTeX programmer.
Recently the idea of more humane markup languages has emerged. These languages can easily be read in raw form but they can also be translated by other computer programs into other types of documents.
If you've ever sent a text message and used quotes: " ", asterisks: * *, or underlines: _ _ around a word, then you've already written in a type of "markdown". Software intended for the web generally will have some form of markdown available.
This isn't something you strictly, "get". Rather it is a text file formatting that you adhere to within the context of a software package.
In 2004 the original version of markdown was released by John Gruber. Since then other software projects have extended and changed the behaviors of markdown. But the original idea remains the same - content that can be read by a human and "read" by a computer program.
We feel that focusing on human readable content is an appropriate activity for faculty. Sticking to markdown syntax makes it possible for other software packages to interpret your content and create interactive notebooks, slides, homework assignments, course notes, etc.
We think it's a good idea so we wanted to share things with you!
Great question, we thought you'd never ask!
Entering text in markdown is simple. Just type the words you want to see. For example, the above text was created by typing the following:
Entering text in markdown is simple. Just type the words you want to see. For example, the above text was created by typing the following:
Emphasis can be either bold or italic. To make something bold use double asterisks. To make something italic use underscores.
For example:
**Hello World!**
_Hello World!_
produces:
Hello World!
Hello World!
You can make lists in Markdown using *:
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3
You can also make numbered lists:
1. One
1. Two
1. Three