Working with Markdown in Python - the most widely used formats
Published on Aug. 22, 2023, 12:12 p.m.
Markdown is one of the most widely used formats.Markdown is a lightweight markup language that makes writing formatted content easy.It uses very easy-to-like syntax and is used by many blog and content writers around the world.It easily integrates with Web technologies using Markdown compilers.It allows you to write HTML entities without much effort or code.It is used in blogs, content management systems, and many more places.In this article, you’ll learn how to work with Markdown in a Python application using different Python packages.Setting Up a project.
So, first, create a project directory (python-markdown) by running the following commands in the terminal:````
mkdir python-markdown
cd python-markdown
Finally, create and activate the virtual environment (venv) for your Python project .
python3 -m venv
source venv/bin/activate
````Markdown to HTML in Python.
One of Markdown’s most common operations is converting it to HTML.By doing so, you can write your content in Markdown and then compile it to HTML.````
pip install markdown
Next, at your project’s root directory, create a main.py file.
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import markdown
markdown_string = ‘# Hello World’
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html_string = markdown.markdown(markdown_string)
print(html_string)
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````Once the code execution is complete, you’ll get the output .Converting a Markdown file into HTML in In Python.
To do so, first, create a sample.md file.````
Hello World
This is a **Markdown** file.
Next, replace the existing code in the main.py file .
import markdown
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with open(‘sample.md’, ‘r’) as f:
markdown_string = f.read()
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html_string = markdown.markdown(markdown_string)
3
with open(‘sample.html’, ‘w’) as f:
f.write(html_string)
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````Once the code execution is complete, you’ll see a sample.html file.Converting HTML into Markdown in Python.
Sometimes, a situation arises where you might want to convert .For this purpose , you can use the markdownify package .First, install the package by running the following command.````
pip install markdownify
Next, replace the existing code in the main.py file .
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import markdownify
html_string = ‘’‘
<h1>Hello World</h1>
<p>This is a great tutorial about using Markdown in Python.</p>
‘’‘
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markdown_string = markdownify.markdownify(html_string)
print(markdown_string)
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````After the code execution is complete, you get the Markdown output:Markdownify also supports a number of options, including Markdown heading styles and more.Converting an HTML file into Markdown in Python.
Sometimes, you need to convert an HTML file to a Markdown file.To do so, first, create a sample.html file.````
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang=”en”>
<body>
<h1>Hello World</h1>
<p>This is a <strong>HTML</strong> file.</p>
<a href=”https://honeybadger.io/">Visit Honeybadger</a>
</body>
</html>
Next, replace the existing code in the main.py file .
import markdownify
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with open(‘sample.html’, ‘r’) as f:
html_string = f.read()
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markdown_string = markdownify.markdownify(html_string, heading_style=’ATX’)
3
with open(‘sample.md’, ‘w’) as f:
f.write(markdown_string)
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````Once the code execution is complete, you’ll see a sample.md file.Reading Markdown Front Matter in Python reading.
In the world of Markdown, there are often some variables or metadata .Front matter data variables are a great way to store extra information.You can specify front matter at the beginning of a Markdown file by placing the YAML data variables.````
title: Hello World
Author: John Doe
Published: 2020-01-20
In Python, you can parse Markdown front matter.To see this package in action, first, install the package.
pip install python-frontmatter
Next, add the following front matter.
title: Hello World
date: 2022-01-20
Next, replace the existing code in the main.py file .
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import frontmatter
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data = frontmatter.load(‘sample.md’)
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print(data.keys())
print(data[‘title’])
print(data[‘date’])
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````Once the code execution is complete, you will get the output of the front matter variables .Updates on Markdown Front Matter in Python.
You can also update the existing front matter data variables or add new ones .To do so, first, replace the existing code in the main.py file .````
import frontmatter
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data = frontmatter.load(‘sample.md’)
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data[‘author’] = ‘John Doe’
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data[‘title’] = ‘Bye World’
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updated_data = frontmatter.dumps(data)
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with open(‘sample.md’, ‘w’) as f:
f.write(updated_data)
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````Once the code execution is complete, check the sample.md file for updated front matter data .Using Python Markdown Extensions
The python-markdown package also supports extensions that allow you to modify.To create a TOC for your Markdown content, first, replace the existing code in the main.py .````
import markdown
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markdown_string = ‘’‘
[TOC]
Hello World
This is a **great** tutorial about using Markdown in Python.
Bye World
’‘’
2
html_string = markdown.markdown(markdown_string, extensions=[‘toc’])
print(html_string)
Finally, save your code and run the main.py file.
python main.py
````Once the code execution is complete, you’ll get the HTML output.Conclusion oppress.
Learning to work with Markdown can help you.Using Python, you can automate many tasks.