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Learn X in Y minutes

Where X=AsciiDoc

AsciiDoc is a markup language similar to Markdown and it can be used for anything from books to blogs. Created in 2002 by Stuart Rackham the language is simple but it allows for a great amount of customization.

Document Header

Headers are optional and can't contain blank lines. It must be offset from content by at least one blank line.

Title Only

= Document Title

First sentence of document.

Title and Author

= Document Title
First Last <[email protected]>

Start of this document.

Multiple Authors

= Document Title
John Doe <[email protected]>; Jane Doe<[email protected]>; Black Beard <[email protected]>

Start of a doc with multiple authors.

Revision Line (requires an author line)

= Doc Title V1
Potato Man <[email protected]>
v1.0, 2016-01-13

This article about chips is going to be fun.

Paragraphs

You don't need anything special for paragraphs.

Add a blank line between paragraphs to separate them.

To create a line blank add a +
and you will receive a line break!

Formatting Text

_underscore creates italics_
*asterisks for bold*
*_combine for extra fun_*
`use ticks to signify monospace`
`*bolded monospace*`

Section Titles

= Level 0 (may only be used in document's header)

== Level 1 <h2>

=== Level 2 <h3>

==== Level 3 <h4>

===== Level 4 <h5>

Lists

To create a bulleted list use asterisks.

* foo
* bar
* baz

To create a numbered list use periods.

. item 1
. item 2
. item 3

You can nest lists by adding extra asterisks or periods up to five times.

* foo 1
** foo 2
*** foo 3
**** foo 4
***** foo 5

. foo 1
.. foo 2
... foo 3
.... foo 4
..... foo 5

Further Reading

There are two tools to process AsciiDoc documents:

  1. AsciiDoc: original Python implementation available in the main Linux distributions. Stable and currently in maintenance mode.
  2. Asciidoctor: alternative Ruby implementation, usable also from Java and JavaScript. Under active development, it aims to extend the AsciiDoc syntax with new features and output formats.

Following links are related to Asciidoctor implementation:


Got a suggestion? A correction, perhaps? Open an Issue on the GitHub Repo, or make a pull request yourself!

Originally contributed by Ryan Mavilia, and updated by 6 contributors.