Notedown is a markup language designed for outliner-style documents. It is optimized to be inputted fast (like when you're taking notes), yet still retain the ability to export the documents as nicely-formatted HTML.
Install:
$ gem install notedown
Pass filename(s) as arguments:
$ notedown file.nd > file.html
Or pipe via STDIN:
$ cat file.nd | notedown - > file.html
This is a perfectly-valid Notedown document:
# Headings begin with a pound sign
Paragraphs always end with a period.
Anything else is a list item
This is also a list item
This is a sub-item, because of its indentation
You may group items by putting empty lines on them
----
Horizontal rules are done with 4 or more dashes.
----
Lists with headings:
If a list item ends with a colon (like above), it's a list item heading (bold)
This example translates to the following HTML:
<h1>Headings begin with a pound sign</h1>
<p>Paragraphs always end with a period.</p>
<ul>
<li>Anything else is a list item</li>
<li>This is also a list item
<ul>
<li>This is a sub-item, because of its indentation</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>You may group items by putting empty lines on them</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>Horizontal rules are done with 4 or more dashes.</p>
<hr />
<ul>
<li><strong>Lists with headings</strong>
<li>If a list item ends with a colon (like above), it's a list item heading (bold)</li>
</li>
</ul>