Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain-text-formatting syntax, created in 2004 by John Gruber with Aaron Swartz. Markdown is often used to format readme files, to write messages in online discussion forums, and to create rich text using a plain text editor.
The Markdown syntax is designed to co-exist with HTML, so you can set up input formats with both HTML and Markdown support. It is also meant to be as human-readable as possible when left unformatted (source).
A valuable, perhaps more generalized, resource for learning more about Markdown is the Markdown Guide.
The quickest way to get going with the Markdown module
Guides for the Markdown parsers supported out-of-the-box by this module
Guides for the extending and customizing Markdown parsers via plugins
Guides for the Drupal APIs created by this module
Provides Markdown integration for Drupal, letting authors write in a clean, plain-text syntax that is transformed into valid HTML through
Drupal is a registered trademark of Dries Buytaert.
