Writing posts in Markdown, with LaTeX

This post is a plain Markdown file, markdown-with-latex.md. The header between the --- lines is its front matter; everything below is the text. Formulas are written in LaTeX and typeset by MathJax, and the Markdown parser never sees them, so _, * and \\ inside a formula are safe.

Text formatting Link to heading

Normal Markdown works: emphasis, strong text, strikethrough, inline code, a link and a bare address like https://www.mathjax.org/ that turns into a link.

A block quote. Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.

1. An ordered list
2. with a formula in an item: \(a_1 + a_2 = a_3\)
3. and a footnote¹.

Inline math Link to heading

Write a formula between single dollar signs, such as \(x_i^2 + y_i^2 = r_i^2\) or \(\sqrt{a*b}\). The LaTeX forms \(...\) also work: \(\alpha_{n+1} = \alpha_n + \delta\).

A dollar sign that is not math stays one: the book costs $5 and the shipping $10, and a price in backticks like $x$ is shown as written, because code is never treated as a formula.

Display math Link to heading

Use double dollar signs, on their own lines or in one line:

\[ \int_0^1 x^2 \, dx = \frac{1}{3} \]

\[\binom{n}{k} = \frac{n!}{k!\,(n-k)!}\]

Several aligned steps, with automatic equation numbers (the & and < need no escaping here):

\begin{align} f(x) &= (x + 1)^2 \\ &= x^2 + 2x + 1 \label{eq:expanded} \\ f(x) &\ge 0 \quad \text{for all } x < \infty \end{align}

Equation \eqref{eq:expanded} is the expanded form.

Formulas in tables Link to heading

A | inside a formula would normally split a table cell; here it does not.

Code blocks Link to heading

Fenced code is shown verbatim, formulas included:

$$ e^{i\theta} = \cos\theta + i\sin\theta $$

String greeting = "Hello, " + name + "!"; // a $ here is just a character

Adding your own posts Link to heading

Create my-post.md with a front matter header in the posts folder next to the application (or in src/main/resources/content/posts/) and restart. The file name becomes the address, /posts/my-post/.