Editing Lightweight markup language (section)

== Comparison of lightweight markup language syntax ==
=== Inline span syntax ===
Although usually documented as yielding italic and bold text, most lightweight markup processors output semantic HTML elements <code>em</code> and <code>strong</code> instead. Monospaced text may either result in semantic <code>code</code> or presentational <code>tt</code> elements. Few languages make a distinction, e.g. Textile, or allow the user to configure the output easily, e.g. Texy.

LMLs sometimes differ for multi-word markup where some require the markup characters to replace the inter-word spaces (''infix'').
Some languages require a single character as prefix and suffix, other need doubled or even tripled ones or support both with slightly different meaning, e.g. different levels of emphasis.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Comparison of text formatting syntax
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | HTML output
!width="20%"| <code>&lt;strong>strongly emphasized&lt;/strong></code> 
!width="20%"| <code>&lt;em>emphasized text&lt;/em></code> 
!width="20%"| <code>&lt;code>code&lt;/code></code> 
! semantic
|-
! <code>&lt;b>bold text&lt;/b></code> 
! <code>&lt;i>italic text&lt;/i></code> 
! <code>&lt;tt>monospace text&lt;/tt></code> 
! presentational
|-
|rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[AsciiDoc]]
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>*bold&nbsp;text*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_italic&nbsp;text_</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>`monospace&nbsp;text`</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| Can double operators to apply formatting where there is no word boundary (for example <code><nowiki>**b**old t**ex**t</nowiki></code> yields '''b'''old t'''ex'''t).
|-
| {{varies|<code><nowiki>'italic&nbsp;text'</nowiki></code>{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation|Deprecated in Asciidoctor 2.0; versions after this represent the current rendition of the language and are aligned to the standard which is still being produced as of April 2025. This syntax [https://docs.asciidoctor.org/asciidoctor/latest/migrate/upgrade/ remains available through a compatibility mode].|group=asciidoc}}}}
| {{varies|<code><nowiki>+monospace&nbsp;text+</nowiki></code>{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation}}}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[BBCode]]
| <code><nowiki>[b]bold&nbsp;text[/b]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[i]italic&nbsp;text[/i]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[code]monospace&nbsp;text[/code]</nowiki></code>
| Formatting works across line breaks.
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Creole (markup)|Creole]]
| <code><nowiki>**bold text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>//italic text//</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>{{{monospace text}}}</nowiki></code>
| Triple curly braces are for ''nowiki'' which is optionally monospace.
|-
! {{rh}} | Djot
| <code><nowiki>*bold&nbsp;text*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_italic text_</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>`monospace text`</nowiki></code>
| 
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[DokuWiki]]
|rowspan=2 | <code><nowiki>**bold&nbsp;text**</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2 | <code><nowiki>//italic&nbsp;text//</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki><code>code</code></nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2 |
|-
| <code><nowiki>''monospace&nbsp;text''</nowiki></code>
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Gemtext]]
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| <code><nowiki>```</nowiki>alt text<br/>monospace text<br/><nowiki>```</nowiki></code>
| Text immediately following the first three backticks is alt-text.
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Jira (software)|Jira Formatting Notation]]
| <code><nowiki>*bold&nbsp;text*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_italic text_</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>{{monospace&nbsp;text}}</nowiki></code>
| 
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[Markdown]]<ref name="markdown_syntax">{{cite web|url=http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax |title=Markdown Syntax |publisher=Daringfireball.net |access-date=2013-10-08}}</ref>
| <code><nowiki>**bold&nbsp;text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>*italic&nbsp;text*</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>`monospace text`</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| semantic HTML tags
|-
| <code><nowiki>__bold&nbsp;text__</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_italic&nbsp;text_</nowiki></code>
|-
! {{rh}} | [[MediaWiki#Markup|MediaWiki]]
| <code><nowiki>'''bold text'''</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>''italic text''</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki><code>monospace text</code></nowiki></code>
| mostly resorts to inline HTML
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[Org-mode]]
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>*bold text*</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>/italic text/</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>=code=</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2|
|-
| <code><nowiki>~verbatim~</nowiki></code>
|-
! {{rh}} | [[PmWiki]]
| <code><nowiki>'''bold text'''</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>''italic text''</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>@@monospace text@@</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Plain Old Documentation|POD]]
| <code><nowiki>B<bold text></nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>I<italic text></nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>C<monospace text></nowiki></code>
| Indented text is also shown as monospaced code.
|-
! {{rh}} | [[reStructuredText]]
| <code><nowiki>**bold text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>*italic text*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>``monospace text``</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Setext]]
| <code><nowiki>**bold text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>~italic text~</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>`monospace text`</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Slack (software)|Slack]]
| <code><nowiki>*bold&nbsp;text*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_italic text_</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>`monospace&nbsp;text`</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>```block of monospaced text```</nowiki></code>
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[Textile (markup language)|Textile]]<ref name="textile_syntax">[http://textile.thresholdstate.com/ Textile Syntax] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812131431/http://textile.thresholdstate.com/ |date=2010-08-12 }}</ref>
| <code><nowiki>*strong*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_emphasis_</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>@monospace text@</nowiki></code>
| semantic HTML tags
|-
| <code><nowiki>**bold&nbsp;text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>__italic&nbsp;text__</nowiki></code>
| presentational HTML tags
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[Texy!]]
|rowspan=2|<code><nowiki>**bold text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>*italic text*</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2|<code><nowiki>`monospace text`</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| semantic HTML tags by default, optional support for presentational tags
|-
| <code><nowiki>//italic text//</nowiki></code>
|-
!rowspan=2 {{rh}} | [[TiddlyWiki]]
|rowspan=2|<code><nowiki>''bold text''</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2|<code><nowiki>//italic text//</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>`monospace text`</nowiki></code>
|
|-
| <code><nowiki>``monospace text``</nowiki></code>
|-
! {{rh}} | [[txt2tags]]
| <code><nowiki>**bold text**</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>//italic text//</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>``monospace text``</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! {{rh}} | [[WhatsApp]]
| <code><nowiki>*bold&nbsp;text*</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>_italic text_</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>```monospace&nbsp;text```</nowiki></code>
| 
|}

Gemtext does not have any inline formatting, monospaced text (called preformatted text in the context of Gemtext) must have the opening and closing <code><nowiki>```</nowiki></code> on their own lines.

==== Emphasis syntax ====

In HTML, text is emphasized with the <code>&lt;em&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;strong&gt;</code> element types, whereas <code>&lt;i&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;b&gt;</code> traditionally mark up text to be italicized or bold-faced, respectively.

Microsoft Word and Outlook, and accordingly other word processors and mail clients that strive for a similar user experience, support the basic convention of using asterisks for boldface and underscores for italic style. While Word removes the characters, Outlook retains them.

<!-- This table is getting very wide, interfering with the Wikipedia sidebar. Maybe this table could be transposed? -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Italic type or normal emphasis
|-
| Code
! {{verth|AsciiDoc}} !! {{verth|ATX}} !! {{verth|Creole,<br/>DokuWiki}} !! {{verth|Jira}} !! {{verth|Markdown}} !! {{verth|MediaWiki}} !! {{verth|Org-mode}} !! {{verth|PmWiki}} !! {{verth|{{abbr|reST|reStructuredText}}}} !! {{verth|Setext}} !! {{verth|Slack}} !! {{verth|Textile}} !! {{verth|Texy!}} !! {{verth|TiddlyWiki}} !! {{verth|txt2tags}} !! {{verth|WhatsApp}}
|-
! <code>*italic*</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>**italic**</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>_italic_</code>
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}}  
|-
! <code>__italic__</code>
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>'italic'</nowiki></code>
| {{yes-no}}{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>''italic''</nowiki></code>
| {{yes-no}}{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>/italic/</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>//italic//</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>~italic~</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Bold face or strong emphasis
|-
| Code
! {{verth|AsciiDoc}} !! {{verth|ATX}} !! {{verth|Creole,<br/>DokuWiki}} !! {{verth|Jira}} !! {{verth|Markdown}} !! {{verth|MediaWiki}} !! {{verth|Org-mode}} !! {{verth|PmWiki}} !! {{verth|{{abbr|reST|reStructuredText}}}} !! {{verth|Setext}} !! {{verth|Slack}} !! {{verth|Textile}} !! {{verth|Texy!}} !! {{verth|TiddlyWiki}} !! {{verth|txt2tags}} !! {{verth|WhatsApp}}
|-
! <code>*bold*</code>
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} 
|-
! <code>**bold**</code>
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>__bold__</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>''bold''</nowiki></code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>'''bold'''</nowiki></code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|}

==== Editorial syntax ====

In HTML, removed or deleted and inserted text is marked up with the <code>&lt;del&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;ins&gt;</code> element types, respectively. However, legacy element types <code>&lt;s&gt;</code> or <code>&lt;strike&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;u&gt;</code> are still also available for stricken and underlined spans of text.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Underlined or inserted text
|-
! {{diagonal split header|Code|Language}}
! DokuWiki !! Jira !! Markdown !! Org-mode !! Setext !! TiddlyWiki !! txt2tags
|-
! <code>_underline_</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{optional}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>__underline__</code>
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{optional}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} 
|-
! <code>+underline+</code>
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|}

AsciiDoc, ATX, Creole, MediaWiki, PmWiki, reST, Slack, Textile, Texy! and WhatsApp do not support dedicated markup for underlining text. Textile does, however, support insertion via the <code>+inserted+</code> syntax.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Strike-through or deleted text
|-
! {{diagonal split header|Code|Language}}
! Jira !! Markdown !! Org-mode !! Slack !! Textile !! TiddlyWiki !! txt2tags !! WhatsApp
|-
! <code>~stricken~</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} 
|-
! <code>~~stricken~~</code>
| {{no}} || {{yes-no|GFM}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>+stricken+</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>-stricken-</code>
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>--stricken--</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} ||{{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} 
|}

ATX, Creole, MediaWiki, PmWiki, reST, Setext and Texy! do not support dedicated markup for striking through text.

DokuWiki supports HTML-like <code><nowiki><del>stricken</del></nowiki></code> syntax, even with embedded HTML disabled. <!-- I would have added it to the table, but that would make it confusing for languages that do support the syntax but who interpret it as raw HTML instead of native syntax, making the syntax not 'dedicated' -->

AsciiDoc supports striken text through a built-in ''text span''{{efn|''Text spans'' in AsciiDoc are termed ''quoted text attributes'' in legacy implementations.|group=asciidoc}} prefix: <code><nowiki>[.line-through]#stricken#</nowiki></code>.

==== Programming syntax ====

Quoted computer code is traditionally presented in typewriter-like fonts where each character occupies the same fixed width. HTML offers the semantic <code>&lt;code&gt;</code> and the deprecated, presentational <code>&lt;tt&gt;</code> element types for this task.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Monospaced font, teletype text or code
|-
| Code
! {{verth|AsciiDoc}} !! {{verth|ATX}} !! {{verth|Creole}} !! {{verth|Gemtext}} !! {{verth|Jira}} !! {{verth|Markdown}} !! {{verth|Org-mode}} !! {{verth|PmWiki}} !! {{verth|{{abbr|reST|reStructuredText}}}} !! {{verth|Slack}} !! {{verth|Textile}} !! {{verth|Texy!}} !! {{verth|TiddlyWiki}} !! {{verth|txt2tags}} !! {{verth|WhatsApp}}
|-
! <code>@code@</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>@@code@@</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>`code`</code>
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>``code``</code>
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>```code```</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes-no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} 
|-
! <code>=code=</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>~code~</code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>+code+</code>
| {{yes-no}}{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code>++code++</code>
| {{yes-no}}{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>{{code}}</nowiki></code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>{{{code}}}</nowiki></code>
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
! <code><nowiki>|code|</nowiki></code>
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} 
|-
!<code>;;code;;</code>
|
|
|
|
|
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}

Mediawiki and Gemtext do not provide lightweight markup for inline code spans.

=== Heading syntax ===

Headings are usually available in up to six levels, but the top one is often reserved to contain the same as the document title, which may be set externally. Some documentation may associate levels with divisional types, e.g. part, chapter, section, article or paragraph. This article uses ''1'' as the top level, but index of heading levels may begin at ''1'' or ''0'' in official documentation.

Most LMLs follow one of two styles for headings, either [[Setext]]-like underlines or [[atx (markup language)|atx]]-like<ref>[http://www.aaronsw.com/2002/atx/intro "atx, the true structured text format" by Aaron Swartz (2002)]</ref> line markers, or they support both.

==== Underlined headings ====
<pre>Level 1 Heading
===============

Level 2 Heading
---------------

Level 3 Heading
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</pre>
The first style uses underlines, i.e. repeated characters (e.g. equals <code>=</code>, hyphen <code>-</code> or tilde <code>~</code>, usually at least two or four times) in the line below the heading text.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Underlined heading levels
! {{diagonal split header|Language|Character}}
! <code><nowiki>=</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>-</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>~</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>*</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>#</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>+</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>^</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>_</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>:</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>"</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>'</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>`</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>.</nowiki></code>
!title="Minimum of characters"| Min. length
<!--! mix-->
|-
! {{rh}} | [[AsciiDoc]]{{efn|name=asciidoctor-deprecation}}
| {{yes-no|1}} || {{yes-no|2}} || {{yes-no|3}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes-no|5}} || {{yes-no|4}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 2{{efn|Width of title ± 2 characters|group=asciidoc}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Markdown]]
| {{yes|1}} || {{yes|2}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 1
|-
! {{rh}} | [[reStructuredText]]
| colspan="13" {{yes|Heading structure is determined dynamically from the succession of headings}}  || ''heading width''
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Setext]]
| {{yes|1}} || {{yes|2}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{dunno}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Texy!]]
| {{yes|3}} || {{yes|4}} || {{no}} || {{yes|2}} || {{yes|1}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 3
|-
|}

Headings may optionally be overline in [[reStructuredText]], in addition to being underlined.

==== Prefixed headings ====
<pre># Level 1 Heading
## Level 2 Heading ##
### Level 3 Heading ###</pre>
The second style is based on repeated markers (e.g. hash <code>#</code>, equals <code>=</code> or asterisk <code>*</code>) at the start of the heading itself, where the number of repetitions indicates the (sometimes inverse) heading level. Most languages also support the reduplication of the markers at the end of the line, but whereas some make them mandatory, others do not even expect their numbers to match.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Line prefix (and suffix) headings
! {{diagonal split header|Language|Character}}
! <code><nowiki>=</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>#</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>*</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>!</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>+</nowiki></code>
! Suffix
! Levels <!--i.e. more chars mean higher level, including smaller letters.-->
! Indentation <!-- possible either additional to or instead of repetition or not at all  -->
|-
! {{rh}} | [[AsciiDoc]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{optional}} || 1–6 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Creole (markup)|Creole]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{optional}} || 1–6 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[DokuWiki]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || 6-1 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Gemtext]]
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{dunno}} || 1–3 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Markdown]]
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{optional}} || 1–6 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[MediaWiki#Markup|MediaWiki]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{yes}} || 1–6 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Org-mode]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{no}} || 1– +∞ || {{yes|alternative}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The Org Manual: section "A Cleaner Outline View" |url=https://orgmode.org/org.html#Clean-View |access-date=14 June 2020 |ref=orgmanual-cleaner-outline-view}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-orgmode/2009-07/msg00651.html |title=using org-adapt-indentation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/3786/indented-multi-tiered-lists-and-headings-with-org-indent-mode |title=using org-indent-mode or org-indent}}</ref>
|-
! {{rh}} | [[PmWiki]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}}
| {{optional}} || 1–6 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Texy!]]
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}
| {{optional}} || 6–1, dynamic || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[TiddlyWiki]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}}
| {{no}} || 1–6 || {{no}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[txt2tags]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}}
| {{yes}} || 1–6 || {{no}} <!--Using <code>+</code> characters instead of <code>=</code> characters creates numbered headers (the default being unnumbered).-->
|-
|}

Org-mode supports indentation as a means of indicating the level.

[[BBCode]] does not support section headings at all.

POD and Textile choose the HTML convention of numbered heading levels instead.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Other heading formats
|-
! Language
! Format
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Plain Old Documentation|POD]]
|<pre>=head1 Level 1 Heading
=head2 Level 2 Heading</pre>
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Textile (markup language)|Textile]],<ref name="textile_syntax"/> [[Jira_(software)|Jira]]<ref name="jira"/>
|<pre>h1. Level 1 Heading
h2. Level 2 Heading
h3. Level 3 Heading
h4. Level 4 Heading
h5. Level 5 Heading
h6. Level 6 Heading</pre>
|}

Microsoft Word supports auto-formatting paragraphs as headings if they do not contain more than a handful of words, no period at the end and the user hits the enter key twice. For lower levels, the user may press the tabulator key the according number of times before entering the text, i.e. one through eight tabs for heading levels two through nine.

=== Link syntax ===
Hyperlinks can either be added inline, which may clutter the code because of long URLs, or with named <code>alias</code> or numbered <code>id</code> references to lines containing nothing but the address and related attributes and often may be located anywhere in the document.
Most languages allow the author to specify text <code>Text</code> to be displayed instead of the plain address <code>http://example.com</code> and some also provide methods to set a different link title <code>Title</code> which may contain more information about the destination.

LMLs that are tailored for special setups, e.g. wikis or code documentation, may automatically generate named anchors (for headings, functions etc.) inside the document, link to related pages (possibly in a different namespace) or provide a textual search for linked keywords.

Most languages employ (double) square or angular brackets to surround links, but hardly any two languages are completely compatible. Many can automatically recognize and parse absolute URLs inside the text without further markup.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Hyperlink syntax
! Languages
! Basic syntax !! Text syntax !! Title syntax
|-
! AsciiDoc
|rowspan=5| <code><nowiki>http://example.com[Text]</nowiki></code> 
|<code><nowiki>http://example.com</nowiki></code>
|
<!--single square brackets-->
|-
! BBCode<!-- some implementations only -->, Creole, MediaWiki, PmWiki
|
|-
! Slack
| <code><nowiki><http://example.com|Text></nowiki></code> || 
|-
! Textile
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>"Text":http://example.com</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>"Text (Title)":http://example.com</nowiki></code>
|-
! Texy!
| <code><nowiki>"Text .(Title)":http://example.com</nowiki></code>
|-
! Jira
|rowspan=3| <code><nowiki>[http://example.com]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[Text|http://example.com]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! MediaWiki
| <code><nowiki>[http://example.com Text]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! txt2tags
| <code><nowiki>[Text http://example.com]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! Creole, MediaWiki, PmWiki, DokuWiki
|rowspan=3| <code><nowiki>[[Name]]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[[Name|Text]]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! Org-mode
| <code><nowiki>[[Name][Text]]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! TiddlyWiki
| <code><nowiki>[[Text|Name]]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! Creole
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>[[Namespace:Name]]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[[Namespace:Name|Text]]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! Org-mode
| <code><nowiki>[[Namespace:Name][Text]]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! Creole, PmWiki
| <code><nowiki>[[http://example.com]]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[[http://example.com|Text]]</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! BBCode
| <code><nowiki>[url]http://example.com[/url]</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[url=http://example.com]Text[/url]</nowiki></code>
|
<!--angular brackets-->
|-
! Markdown
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki><http://example.com></nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[Text](http://example.com)</nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>[Text](http://example.com "Title")</nowiki></code>
|-
! reStructuredText
| <code><nowiki>`Text <http://example.com/>`_</nowiki></code>
|
|-
! Gemtext
| <code><nowiki>=> gemini://example.com</nowiki></code>
|colspan=2| <code><nowiki>=> gemini://example.com Text</nowiki></code>
|-
! POD
| <code><nowiki>L<http://example.com/></nowiki></code>
| <code><nowiki>L</Name></nowiki></code>
|
|-
! setext
|
| <code><nowiki>^.. _Link_name URL</nowiki></code>
|
|-
|}

Gemtext and setext links must be on a line by themselves, they cannot be used inline.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Reference syntax
! Languages
! Text syntax !! Title syntax
<!--reference line-->
|-
!rowspan=2| AsciiDoc
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [[id]] …
<<id>></syntaxhighlight>
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [[id]] …
<<id,Text>></syntaxhighlight>
|-
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… anchor:id …
xref:id</syntaxhighlight>
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… anchor:id …
xref:id[Text]</syntaxhighlight>
|-

!rowspan=3| Markdown
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [Text][id] …
[id]: http://example.com</syntaxhighlight>
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [Text][id] …
[id]: http://example.com "Title"</syntaxhighlight>
|-
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [Text][] …
[Text]: http://example.com</syntaxhighlight>
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [Text][] …
[Text]: http://example.com "Title"</syntaxhighlight>
|-
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [Text] …
[Text]: http://example.com</syntaxhighlight>
| <syntaxhighlight lang="md">… [Text] …
[Text]: http://example.com "Title"</syntaxhighlight>
|-
! reStructuredText
| <syntaxhighlight lang="rest">… Name_ …
.. _Name: http://example.com</syntaxhighlight>
|
|-
! setext
| <pre>… Link_name_ …
^.. _Link_name URL</pre>
|
|-
! Textile
| <pre>… "Text":alias …
[alias]http://example.com</pre>
| <pre>… "Text":alias …
[alias (Title)]http://example.com</pre>
|-
! Texy!
| <pre>… "Text":alias …
[alias]: http://example.com</pre>
| <pre>… "Text":alias …
[alias]: http://example.com .(Title)</pre>
|}

Org-mode's normal link syntax does a text search of the file. You can also put in dedicated targets with <code><<id>></code>.

=== Media and external resource syntax ===
{{expand section|with=comparison table featuring how languages handle embedded images, audio, video and other types of media (e.g. social media links)|date=June 2014}}

=== List syntax ===
HTML requires an explicit element for the list, specifying its type, and one for each list item, but most lightweight markup languages need only different line prefixes for the bullet points or enumerated items. Some languages rely on indentation for nested lists, others use repeated parent list markers.

{{sort-under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under"
|+ Unordered, bullet list items
! {{diagonal split header|Language|Character}}
! <code><nowiki>*</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>-</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>+</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>#</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>.</nowiki></code>
!{{tooltip|2=middle dot|<code><nowiki>·</nowiki></code>}}
!{{tooltip|2=bullet|<code><nowiki>•</nowiki></code>}}
! <code><nowiki>_</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>:</nowiki></code>
!{{tooltip|2=en-dash|<code><nowiki>–</nowiki></code>}}
!{{tooltip|2=em-dash|<code><nowiki>—</nowiki></code>}}
!{{tooltip|2=number of whitespace characters before the line prefix|indent}}
!{{tooltip|2=number of whitespace characters after the line prefix|skip}}
! nest
|-
! {{rh}} | [[AsciiDoc]]
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0{{efn|name=asciidoc-indentation|Indenting by a single whitepace in AsciiDoc will preformat the text of that line.|group=asciidoc}} || {{dunno}} || repeat ''or'' alternate the marker
|-
! {{rh}} | [[DokuWiki]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 2+ || 0+ || indent
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Gemtext]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0 || 1+ || {{n/a}}
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Jira (software)|Jira]]
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0 || 1+ || repeat
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Markdown]]
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0–3 || 1–3 || indent
|-
! {{rh}} | [[MediaWiki]], [[TiddlyWiki]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0 || 1+ || repeat
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Org-mode]]
| {{yes-no|Yes<ref>[https://orgmode.org/org.html#FOOT9 Footnote in official manual] "When using ‘*’ as a bullet, lines must be indented so that they are not interpreted as headlines. Also, when you are hiding leading stars to get a clean outline view, plain list items starting with a star may be hard to distinguish from true headlines. In short: even though ‘*’ is supported, it may be better to not use it for plain list items."</ref>}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0+ || || indent
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Textile (markup language)|Textile]]
| {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0 || 1+ || repeat
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Texy!]]
| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 2+ || {{dunno}} || indent
|}

Microsoft Word automatically converts paragraphs that start with an asterisk <code>*</code>, hyphen-minus <code>-</code> or greater-than bracket <code>&gt;</code> followed by a space or horizontal tabulator as bullet list items. It will also start an enumerated list for the digit ''1'' and the case-insensitive letters ''a'' (for alphabetic lists) or ''i'' (for roman numerals), if they are followed by a period <code>.</code>, a closing round parenthesis <code>)</code>, a greater-than sign <code>&gt;</code> or a hyphen-minus <code>-</code> and a space or tab; in case of the round parenthesis an optional opening one <code>(</code> before the list marker is also supported.

Languages differ on whether they support optional or mandatory digits in numbered list items, which kinds of enumerators they understand (e.g. decimal digit ''1'', roman numerals ''i'' or ''I'', alphabetic letters ''a'' or ''A'') and whether they support to keep explicit values in the output format. Some Markdown dialects, for instance, will respect a start value other than 1, but ignore any other explicit value.

{{sort-under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under"
|+ Ordered, enumerated list items
! {{diagonal split header|Language|Character}}
! <code><nowiki>+</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>#</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>-</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>.</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>#1</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>1.</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>1)</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>1]</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>1}</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>(1)</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>[1]</nowiki></code>
! <code><nowiki>{1}</nowiki></code>
! {{tooltip|2=Lower-case letters as alternative to digits (with punctuation as for digits)|<code><nowiki>a.</nowiki></code>}}
! {{tooltip|2=Upper-case letters as alternative to digits (with punctuation as for digits)|<code><nowiki>A.</nowiki></code>}}
! {{tooltip|2=Lower-case Roman numerals (with punctuation as for digits)|<code><nowiki>i.</nowiki></code>}}
! {{tooltip|2=Upper-case Roman numerals (with punctuation as for digits)|<code><nowiki>I.</nowiki></code>}}
!{{tooltip|2=number of whitespace characters before the line prefix|indent}}
!{{tooltip|2=number of whitespace characters after the line prefix|skip}}
! nest
|-
! {{rh}} | [[AsciiDoc]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}|| {{no}} || colspan="4" {{yes}}{{efn|The modern language specification only supports a full stop as a delimiter for any ordered list. In the legacy AsciiDoc.py syntax, only a right parenthesis was acceptable for either lower alpha or Roman numerals.|group=asciidoc}} || 0{{efn|name=asciidoc-indentation}} || {{dunno}} || repeat ''or'' alternate the marker
|-
! {{rh}} | [[DokuWiki]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no }} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 2+ || 0+ || indent
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Jira (software)|Jira]], [[MediaWiki]], [[Textile (markup language)|Textile]], [[TiddlyWiki]]
| {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}  || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0 || 1+ || repeat
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Markdown]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no }} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0–3 || 1–3 || indent
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Org-mode]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}}  || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || colspan="2" {{optional}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || 0+ || || indent
|-
! {{rh}} | [[Texy!]]
| {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || colspan="2" {{yes-no|Only with <code><nowiki>)</nowiki></code> delimiter}} || {{no}} || {{yes-no|Only with <code><nowiki>)</nowiki></code> delimiter}} || 2+ || {{dunno}} || indent
|-
|}

Slack assists the user in entering enumerated and bullet lists, but does not actually format them as such, i.e. it just includes a leading digit followed by a period and a space or a bullet character <code>•</code> in front of a line.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Labeled, glossary, [[definition list|description/definition list]] syntax
! Languages
! Term being defined !! Definition of the term
|-
! rowspan="3"| [[AsciiDoc]]
|<code><nowiki>Term::</nowiki></code>
| rowspan="3" |No specific requirements; may be mixed with ordered or unordered lists, with nesting optional
|-
|<code><nowiki>Term::::</nowiki></code>
|-
|<code><nowiki>Term;;</nowiki></code>

|-
! [[MediaWiki]]
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>; Term</nowiki></code>
|rowspan=2| <code><nowiki>: Definition</nowiki></code>
|-
! [[Textile (markup language)|Textile]]
|-
![[Texy!]]
|colspan="2" | <pre><nowiki>Term:
    - Definition</nowiki></pre>
|-
![[TiddlyWiki]]
|colspan="2" | <pre><nowiki>; Term
: Definition</nowiki></pre>
|-
! [[Org-mode]]
|colspan="2" | <code><nowiki>- Term :: Definition </nowiki></code>
|-

|}

=== Quotation syntax ===
{{expand section|with=differentiation between in-line and block quotes, as well as any handling for attribution|date=June 2014}}

=== Table syntax ===
{{expand section|with=Cell, Row, Column, Header, Caption|date=June 2014}}