Markdown vs. BBCode

[Dani]

Soooo Initial Impressions .... Markdown vs BBCode ... ? :)

[TrustyTony]

I do not know if it is possible to add thei markdown extra, so indentation can be avoided for code blocks, otherwise it is better to indent code before copying to your post. I think most posters do not like playing with mouse painting games.

from http://warpedvisions.org/projects/markdown-cheat-sheet/

// Markdown extra adds un-indented code blocks too

if (this_is_more_code == true && !indented) {
    // tild wrapped code blocks, also not indented
}

EDIT

So it works after actually posting, even not visible in preview, great happy news, must post to the Python forum tread of desparate posters.

Generally markdown seems very human readable, like ReST
(Did that hyperlink by typing ;) by myself)

I like for example the bracket matching, maybe I must start to post Lisp ;)

I do hate the way pushing of the ribbon buttons produces the text you must hand remove so probably I would enter all formatting manually and that the pages does not autorefresh after post/edit.

[Dani]

Here is another trick.

You can use:

~~~
Code here
~~~

to force code snippets without indenting. As you know, it's ideal for copying/pasting in code because it saves you the task of having to indent. However, you can also do:

~~~ php
<? echo "Force syntax highlighter to use php syntax"; ?>
~~~

or you can do something like ...

~~~ html
<strong>Force syntax highlighter to use html syntax</strong>
~~~~

or, I know this is the one you guys are all going to LOVE ........

~~~ none
Force NO syntax highlighting at all!!
~~~

There ya go! Here it is in all its glory ...

cout << "Hi, my name is Dani.";
cout << "And I can turn the syntax highlighter off.
cout << "And I don't even have to indent my code!

That's all, folks!

[TrustyTony]

Any way to get it actually put correct line numbers, instead of these imaginary ones ;)

[Dani]

I didn't write the syntax highlighter. I only use it. :) But it's javascript based, which means that if/when a bug fix comes out, it will be applied retroactively.

If you can find a fix, be my guest: http://code.google.com/p/google-code-prettify/

[Ezzaral]

What about ditching the alternating line highlight? It seems to make it less readable rather than more.

Such highlight is helpful for tabular reports - not so much for code.

[TrustyTony]

It would be interesting to see every line numbered theme in action, this http://code.google.com/p/google-code-prettify/source/browse/trunk/styles/sons-of-obsidian.css, so that we could maybe spot where the program is mixed up. Many times it seems to count one line before code starts, but not allways. Also mistakes seem more rare with C-like syntax of C++ and Java, much with Python, C#...

For me it looks like the highligter is counting empty lines but not displaying them. If you turn off css you can see some lines which are not there with css on.

[Ezzaral]

Yes, if you take out the list-style-type: none setting and remove the background change for alternating lines it should show all numbers and have a consistent background:

/* Specify class=linenums on a pre to get line numbering */
ol.linenums { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } /* IE indents via margin-left */
li.L0,
li.L1,
li.L2,
li.L3,
li.L5,
li.L6,
li.L7,
li.L8 {  }
/* Alternate shading for lines */
li.L1,
li.L3,
li.L5,
li.L7,
li.L9 { }

Though it looks like the prettyprint alternate line colers are getting set here as well:

div#static-posts pre.prettyprint li.L1, li.L3, li.L5, li.L7, li.L9 {
    background-color: #F5F5FF;
}

[diafol]

Here is another trick.

Is it me or is the formatting all weird? Especially the html and NONE. Seems like random words which are reserved words in other languages / markup get formatted anyway.

BBCode was simple but a little awkward. Markdown is frsutrating to begin with, but I suppose it will get easier with time.

Thought I'd like the new editor - but as it's broken in HTC and a few other smartphones, you have to wonder if it's worth it (at the moment).

Seeing as there is a live preview below the editor, does it really need to be wysiwyg?

[Dani]

Thought I'd like the new editor - but as it's broken in HTC and a few other smartphones, you have to wonder if it's worth it (at the moment).

This is definitely on my list of things to fix. However, it probably won't make it into the FIRST round of revisions because I can count on one hand how many people post technical questions from their phone.

[mike_2000_17]

I generally like the new editor and the markdown. It's not only simpler but also more feature-rich (at least it seems at first glance), which is a nice combination. But I have a few beefs:

1.
The transition messed up some previous posts. For example, I wrote two tutorials on the C++ forum, making heavy use of the [ICODE] blocks [/ICODE]. All these inline code blocks were translated into single code-line blocks. I don't know if it's fixable, that would be nice.

2.
Is there a way to do (La)TeX blocks (inline or not)? Or some other similar markup for math equations in particular. It's not like I tend to need that so much, but once in a while it comes in handy.

3.
This may be specific to me. I use Linux with system-wide spell checker (Sonnet) (all I write, anywhere I write it, is checked for spelling and is easily corrected with a right-click). For some weird reason, this new editor is immune to that, it's the first such editor that I encounter in the few years I've been using this feature (the old editor didn't have that problem). I love this system-wide spell checker, any ideas why the new editor is such an exception to this, and what could possibly solve this?

Thanks.

BTW, I also agree with previous posters that the alternation of line colors is not helpful for the code, I think just making it fainter would be better.

[Dani]

The transition messed up some previous posts.

This will be fixed. I currently just need to set the development server up to do a test run reparsing all of the posts, but it should be good to go by early next week.

Currently no TeX support. Maybe in the future. We'll see. It doesn't seem to be a very used feature.

No spell checkers currently work. I am still looking into a solution, because I miss it too.

And, last but not least, am I the ONLY ONE who really does like the alternating line colors?!

[Rashakil Fol]

TeX is underused so I wouldn't recommend spending your time on it. The output was always disgusting anyway, as if the TeX ran under disgusting settings.

Yes, you are the only one who likes alternating line colors. This means you are a bad person.

[diafol]

And, last but not least, am I the ONLY ONE who really does like the alternating line colors?!

I think so - I find it less readable.

[Ezzaral]

The line number mis-counting bug also only seems to appear when some are hidden. If you remove the CSS that hides all but the 5's and show all numbers, the numbering is correct.

[Dani]

Are you sure about that??

[TrustyTony]

At least it part of story: look my code lines 6. and 9. visible without css at http://www.daniweb.com/software-development/python/code/383461/tkinter-password-entry-form, and how they dissapear when enabling css.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

12

14

16

18

20

This test makes it look that empty lines are kept only if they are 5's multiple lines.

[Dani]

OK I'll look into it in a bit. Right now I'm working on reparsing all past posts to look better.

[TrustyTony]

This hightlighter is Javascript and seems to work very nicely, worth effort to swap in?

[Dani]

I originally looked at that one and decided I like the one we're using now much better for quite a couple of reasons. The line numbering bug should be fixed now.

[Dani]

Incidentally, it turns out the entire issue was related to a bug in my CSS!

[TrustyTony]

The translation is not always perfect, and of course the TEX is missing:
http://www.daniweb.com/software-development/computer-science/threads/324685/a-brief-introduction-to-big-o-notation-the-big-oh-notation

[Dani]

It is still a work in progress. :)

[Ezzaral]

Still not numbering correctly: http://www.daniweb.com/software-development/java/threads/418966/what-is-the-proper-use-of-static-function
The section from 10-15 is only 4 lines.

[Dani]

You need to clear your cache :)

[Ezzaral]

Yes, it's showing all numbers now.

[Dani]

Sorry about that. I was trying ot get all of the little quirks taken care of before I force a refresh of everything in the cache for everyone.

[Dani]

Now that most of the bugs are squished ... Still waiting for those opinions ... At the end of the day, Markdown or BBCode? :)

[Ancient Dragon]

I don't really care one way or the other. I think the old style of Link button was easier and more intuitive to use, but I'll get accostumed to the way it is now. About the only thing I use is code tags, Link, Quote, and on rare occasions List.

[Dani]

Are there still issues with code formatting or is that pretty much straightened out now?

Have you noticed more or fewer problems with newbies posting code? I've noticed a lot of them leave the dummy text saying "Code blocks ..." instead of replacing it with their own code. Reminds me of pressing the <Any> key.