Markdown

A comprehensive guide to the most commonly used Markdown syntax.

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Table of Contents

Headers
Text Formatting
Lists
Blockquotes
Horizontal Line
Code
Links
Images
Tables
Escaping Characters
Footnotes
Using LaTeX (Math)
Using HTML (Comments)

---

Headers

Use the hash symbol (#) to create up to six levels of headers.

# Header 1
## Header 2
### Header 3
#### Header 4
##### Header 5
###### Header 6

Header 1

Header 2

Header 3

Header 4

Header 5

Header 6

---

Text Formatting

Text can be bold, italic, or have a strikethrough.

**Bold text** or __Bold text__
*Italic text* or _Italic Text_
~~Strikethrough Text~~
***Bold and Italic***

Bold text or Bold text
Italic text or Italic Text
Strikethrough Text
Bold and Italic

---

Lists

Lists can be ordered, unordered, or task-based.

Use asterisks (`*`), plus signs (`+`), or hyphens (`-`) to create ordered lists.
* Item 1
+ Item 2
  - Nested item 2a
  * Nested item 2b
+ Item 3

Use numbers followed by a period to create ordered lists.
1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3
   1. Nested item 3a  
   2. Nested item 3b

Use `-[ ]` to create a checkbox. Add an `x` inside to mark a task as complete.
- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task

Use asterisks (*), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-) to create ordered lists.

• Item 1

• Item 2
  • Nested item 2a
  • Nested item 2b
• Item 3

Use numbers followed by a period to create ordered lists.

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3
   1. Nested item 3a
   2. Nested item 3b

Use -[ ] to create a checkbox. Add an x inside to mark a task as complete.

• Completed task
• Incomplete task

---

Blockquotes

Use the greater-than symbol (>) to create blockquotes for quoted text.

> This is a blockquote.
>
> > This is a nested blockquote.

This is a blockquote.

This is a nested blockquote.

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Horizontal Rule

Use three or more asterisks (***), dashes (---), or underscores (___) to create a thematic break.

***
---
___

---

---

---

Code

Use single backticks (`...`) for inline code, or triple backticks (```) for fenced code blocks. To enable syntax highlighting in a fenced code block, specify the language name after the opening backticks.

This is `inline code`.

```python
# This is a fenced code block with Python syntax highlighting.
def hello():
  print("Hello, world!")
```

This is inline code.

# This is a fenced code block with Python syntax highlighting.
def hello():
  print("Hello, world!")

---

Links

Hyperlinks can be inline, reference-style, internal, or relative.

This is an inline link to [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov "Visit NASA") with an optional hover title.   

This is a reference-style link to [HubbleSite][hubble].  

[hubble]: https://hubblesite.org "Explore the Hubble Space Telescope"

This is an internal link to the [Images section](#images). 

[Link to a file in the same directory](./notes.md)
[Link to a file in a subdirectory](./docs/contributing.md)
[Link to a file in a parent directory](../README.md)

This is an inline link to NASA with an optional hover title.

This is a reference-style link to HubbleSite.

This is an internal link to the Images section.

Link to a file in the same directory
Link to a file in a subdirectory
Link to a file in a parent directory

---

Images

The syntax to embed images is similar to links, but prefixed with an exclamation mark (!).

This is an inline image URL with an optional hover title.    
![Inline placeholder](https://placehold.co/400x200/EEE/31343C?text=Inline+Image "Inline Placeholder")

This is a reference-style image with the URL defined elsewhere in the document.   
![Reference placeholder][img-ref]

[img-ref]: https://placehold.co/400x200/EEE/31343C?text=Reference+Image "Reference Placeholder"

This is an inline image URL with an optional hover title.

This is a reference-style image with the URL defined elsewhere in the document.

---

Tables

Create tables using pipes (|) for columns and hyphens (-) for the header row. Use colons (:) to set column alignment.

| Left-Aligned | Center-Aligned | Right-Aligned |
| :----------- | :------------: | ------------: |
| Cell 1       |     Cell 2     |        Cell 3 |
| Cell 4       |     Cell 5     |        Cell 6 |

Left-Aligned	Center-Aligned	Right-Aligned
Cell 1	Cell 2	Cell 3
Cell 4	Cell 5	Cell 6

---

Escaping Characters

Use a backslash (\) to display special Markdown characters literally.

\*This is not italic.\*

*This is not italic.*

---

Footnotes

Create footnotes using [^n] for the reference and [^n]: for the definition.

Here is a statement with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote text.

Here is a statement with a footnote.¹

---

Using LaTeX (Math)

Use LaTeX for advanced mathematical expressions. Wrap equations in single dollar signs ($...$) for inline math and double dollar signs ($$...$$) for display math.

This is inline math: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

This is display math:    
$$x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$$

This is inline math: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

This is display math:
$$x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$$

---

Using HTML (Comments)

Use raw HTML for features Markdown doesn't support, like comments and collapsible sections.

<!-- This is a comment -->

<details>
  <summary>Click to expand!</summary>
  
  This content is hidden by default but is revealed when you click the summary text.
  You can even include **Markdown** `inside` HTML.
</details>

Click to expand!

This content is hidden by default but is revealed when you click the summary text. You can even include Markdown inside HTML.

Footnotes

1. This is the footnote text. ↩