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+---
+title: CommonMark Spec
+author:
+- John MacFarlane
+version: 2
+date: 2014-09-19
+...
+
+# Introduction
+
+## What is Markdown?
+
+Markdown is a plain text format for writing structured documents,
+based on conventions used for indicating formatting in email and
+usenet posts.  It was developed in 2004 by John Gruber, who wrote
+the first Markdown-to-HTML converter in perl, and it soon became
+widely used in websites.  By 2014 there were dozens of
+implementations in many languages.  Some of them extended basic
+Markdown syntax with conventions for footnotes, definition lists,
+tables, and other constructs, and some allowed output not just in
+HTML but in LaTeX and many other formats.
+
+## Why is a spec needed?
+
+John Gruber's [canonical description of Markdown's
+syntax](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax)
+does not specify the syntax unambiguously.  Here are some examples of
+questions it does not answer:
+
+1.  How much indentation is needed for a sublist?  The spec says that
+    continuation paragraphs need to be indented four spaces, but is
+    not fully explicit about sublists.  It is natural to think that
+    they, too, must be indented four spaces, but `Markdown.pl` does
+    not require that.  This is hardly a "corner case," and divergences
+    between implementations on this issue often lead to surprises for
+    users in real documents. (See [this comment by John
+    Gruber](http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.markdown.general/1997).)
+
+2.  Is a blank line needed before a block quote or header?
+    Most implementations do not require the blank line.  However,
+    this can lead to unexpected results in hard-wrapped text, and
+    also to ambiguities in parsing (note that some implementations
+    put the header inside the blockquote, while others do not).
+    (John Gruber has also spoken [in favor of requiring the blank
+    lines](http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.markdown.general/2146).)
+
+3.  Is a blank line needed before an indented code block?
+    (`Markdown.pl` requires it, but this is not mentioned in the
+    documentation, and some implementations do not require it.)
+
+    ``` markdown
+    paragraph
+        code?
+    ```
+
+4.  What is the exact rule for determining when list items get
+    wrapped in `<p>` tags?  Can a list be partially "loose" and partially
+    "tight"?  What should we do with a list like this?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    1. one
+
+    2. two
+    3. three
+    ```
+
+    Or this?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    1.  one
+        - a
+
+        - b
+    2.  two
+    ```
+
+    (There are some relevant comments by John Gruber
+    [here](http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.markdown.general/2554).)
+
+5.  Can list markers be indented?  Can ordered list markers be right-aligned?
+
+    ``` markdown
+     8. item 1
+     9. item 2
+    10. item 2a
+    ```
+
+6.  Is this one list with a horizontal rule in its second item,
+    or two lists separated by a horizontal rule?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    * a
+    * * * * *
+    * b
+    ```
+
+7.  When list markers change from numbers to bullets, do we have
+    two lists or one?  (The Markdown syntax description suggests two,
+    but the perl scripts and many other implementations produce one.)
+
+    ``` markdown
+    1. fee
+    2. fie
+    -  foe
+    -  fum
+    ```
+
+8.  What are the precedence rules for the markers of inline structure?
+    For example, is the following a valid link, or does the code span
+    take precedence ?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    [a backtick (`)](/url) and [another backtick (`)](/url).
+    ```
+
+9.  What are the precedence rules for markers of emphasis and strong
+    emphasis?  For example, how should the following be parsed?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    *foo *bar* baz*
+    ```
+
+10. What are the precedence rules between block-level and inline-level
+    structure?  For example, how should the following be parsed?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    - `a long code span can contain a hyphen like this
+      - and it can screw things up`
+    ```
+
+11. Can list items include headers?  (`Markdown.pl` does not allow this,
+    but headers can occur in blockquotes.)
+
+    ``` markdown
+    - # Heading
+    ```
+
+12. Can link references be defined inside block quotes or list items?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    > Blockquote [foo].
+    >
+    > [foo]: /url
+    ```
+
+13. If there are multiple definitions for the same reference, which takes
+    precedence?
+
+    ``` markdown
+    [foo]: /url1
+    [foo]: /url2
+
+    [foo][]
+    ```
+
+In the absence of a spec, early implementers consulted `Markdown.pl`
+to resolve these ambiguities.  But `Markdown.pl` was quite buggy, and
+gave manifestly bad results in many cases, so it was not a
+satisfactory replacement for a spec.
+
+Because there is no unambiguous spec, implementations have diverged
+considerably.  As a result, users are often surprised to find that
+a document that renders one way on one system (say, a github wiki)
+renders differently on another (say, converting to docbook using
+pandoc).  To make matters worse, because nothing in Markdown counts
+as a "syntax error," the divergence often isn't discovered right away.
+
+## About this document
+
+This document attempts to specify Markdown syntax unambiguously.
+It contains many examples with side-by-side Markdown and
+HTML.  These are intended to double as conformance tests.  An
+accompanying script `runtests.pl` can be used to run the tests
+against any Markdown program:
+
+    perl runtests.pl spec.txt PROGRAM
+
+Since this document describes how Markdown is to be parsed into
+an abstract syntax tree, it would have made sense to use an abstract
+representation of the syntax tree instead of HTML.  But HTML is capable
+of representing the structural distinctions we need to make, and the
+choice of HTML for the tests makes it possible to run the tests against
+an implementation without writing an abstract syntax tree renderer.
+
+This document is generated from a text file, `spec.txt`, written
+in Markdown with a small extension for the side-by-side tests.
+The script `spec2md.pl` can be used to turn `spec.txt` into pandoc
+Markdown, which can then be converted into other formats.
+
+In the examples, the `→` character is used to represent tabs.
+
+# Preprocessing
+
+A [line](#line) <a id="line"></a>
+is a sequence of zero or more characters followed by a line
+ending (CR, LF, or CRLF) or by the end of
+file.
+
+This spec does not specify an encoding; it thinks of lines as composed
+of characters rather than bytes.  A conforming parser may be limited
+to a certain encoding.
+
+Tabs in lines are expanded to spaces, with a tab stop of 4 characters:
+
+.
+→foo→baz→→bim
+.
+<pre><code>foo baz     bim
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+    a→a
+    ὐ→a
+.
+<pre><code>a   a
+ὐ   a
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Line endings are replaced by newline characters (LF).
+
+A line containing no characters, or a line containing only spaces (after
+tab expansion), is called a [blank line](#blank-line).
+<a id="blank-line"></a>
+
+# Blocks and inlines
+
+We can think of a document as a sequence of [blocks](#block)<a
+id="block"></a>---structural elements like paragraphs, block quotations,
+lists, headers, rules, and code blocks.  Blocks can contain other
+blocks, or they can contain [inline](#inline)<a id="inline"></a> content:
+words, spaces, links, emphasized text, images, and inline code.
+
+## Precedence
+
+Indicators of block structure always take precedence over indicators
+of inline structure.  So, for example, the following is a list with
+two items, not a list with one item containing a code span:
+
+.
+- `one
+- two`
+.
+<ul>
+<li>`one</li>
+<li>two`</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+This means that parsing can proceed in two steps:  first, the block
+structure of the document can be discerned; second, text lines inside
+paragraphs, headers, and other block constructs can be parsed for inline
+structure.  The second step requires information about link reference
+definitions that will be available only at the end of the first
+step.  Note that the first step requires processing lines in sequence,
+but the second can be parallelized, since the inline parsing of
+one block element does not affect the inline parsing of any other.
+
+## Container blocks and leaf blocks
+
+We can divide blocks into two types:
+[container blocks](#container-block), <a id="container-block"></a>
+which can contain other blocks, and [leaf blocks](#leaf-block),
+<a id="leaf-block"></a> which cannot.
+
+# Leaf blocks
+
+This section describes the different kinds of leaf block that make up a
+Markdown document.
+
+## Horizontal rules
+
+A line consisting of 0-3 spaces of indentation, followed by a sequence
+of three or more matching `-`, `_`, or `*` characters, each followed
+optionally by any number of spaces, forms a [horizontal
+rule](#horizontal-rule). <a id="horizontal-rule"></a>
+
+.
+***
+---
+___
+.
+<hr />
+<hr />
+<hr />
+.
+
+Wrong characters:
+
+.
++++
+.
+<p>+++</p>
+.
+
+.
+===
+.
+<p>===</p>
+.
+
+Not enough characters:
+
+.
+--
+**
+__
+.
+<p>--
+**
+__</p>
+.
+
+One to three spaces indent are allowed:
+
+.
+ ***
+  ***
+   ***
+.
+<hr />
+<hr />
+<hr />
+.
+
+Four spaces is too many:
+
+.
+    ***
+.
+<pre><code>***
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+Foo
+    ***
+.
+<p>Foo
+***</p>
+.
+
+More than three characters may be used:
+
+.
+_____________________________________
+.
+<hr />
+.
+
+Spaces are allowed between the characters:
+
+.
+ - - -
+.
+<hr />
+.
+
+.
+ **  * ** * ** * **
+.
+<hr />
+.
+
+.
+-     -      -      -
+.
+<hr />
+.
+
+Spaces are allowed at the end:
+
+.
+- - - -    
+.
+<hr />
+.
+
+However, no other characters may occur at the end or the
+beginning:
+
+.
+_ _ _ _ a
+
+a------
+.
+<p>_ _ _ _ a</p>
+<p>a------</p>
+.
+
+It is required that all of the non-space characters be the same.
+So, this is not a horizontal rule:
+
+.
+ *-*
+.
+<p><em>-</em></p>
+.
+
+Horizontal rules do not need blank lines before or after:
+
+.
+- foo
+***
+- bar
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+</ul>
+<hr />
+<ul>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+Horizontal rules can interrupt a paragraph:
+
+.
+Foo
+***
+bar
+.
+<p>Foo</p>
+<hr />
+<p>bar</p>
+.
+
+Note, however, that this is a setext header, not a paragraph followed
+by a horizontal rule:
+
+.
+Foo
+---
+bar
+.
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+<p>bar</p>
+.
+
+When both a horizontal rule and a list item are possible
+interpretations of a line, the horizontal rule is preferred:
+
+.
+* Foo
+* * *
+* Bar
+.
+<ul>
+<li>Foo</li>
+</ul>
+<hr />
+<ul>
+<li>Bar</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+If you want a horizontal rule in a list item, use a different bullet:
+
+.
+- Foo
+- * * *
+.
+<ul>
+<li>Foo</li>
+<li><hr /></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+## ATX headers
+
+An [ATX header](#atx-header) <a id="atx-header"></a>
+consists of a string of characters, parsed as inline content, between an
+opening sequence of 1--6 unescaped `#` characters and an optional
+closing sequence of any number of `#` characters.  The opening sequence
+of `#` characters cannot be followed directly by a nonspace character.
+The closing `#` characters may be followed by spaces only.  The opening
+`#` character may be indented 0-3 spaces.  The raw contents of the
+header are stripped of leading and trailing spaces before being parsed
+as inline content.  The header level is equal to the number of `#`
+characters in the opening sequence.
+
+Simple headers:
+
+.
+# foo
+## foo
+### foo
+#### foo
+##### foo
+###### foo
+.
+<h1>foo</h1>
+<h2>foo</h2>
+<h3>foo</h3>
+<h4>foo</h4>
+<h5>foo</h5>
+<h6>foo</h6>
+.
+
+More than six `#` characters is not a header:
+
+.
+####### foo
+.
+<p>####### foo</p>
+.
+
+A space is required between the `#` characters and the header's
+contents.  Note that many implementations currently do not require
+the space.  However, the space was required by the [original ATX
+implementation](http://www.aaronsw.com/2002/atx/atx.py), and it helps
+prevent things like the following from being parsed as headers:
+
+.
+#5 bolt
+.
+<p>#5 bolt</p>
+.
+
+This is not a header, because the first `#` is escaped:
+
+.
+\## foo
+.
+<p>## foo</p>
+.
+
+Contents are parsed as inlines:
+
+.
+# foo *bar* \*baz\*
+.
+<h1>foo <em>bar</em> *baz*</h1>
+.
+
+Leading and trailing blanks are ignored in parsing inline content:
+
+.
+#                  foo                     
+.
+<h1>foo</h1>
+.
+
+One to three spaces indentation are allowed:
+
+.
+ ### foo
+  ## foo
+   # foo
+.
+<h3>foo</h3>
+<h2>foo</h2>
+<h1>foo</h1>
+.
+
+Four spaces are too much:
+
+.
+    # foo
+.
+<pre><code># foo
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+foo
+    # bar
+.
+<p>foo
+# bar</p>
+.
+
+A closing sequence of `#` characters is optional:
+
+.
+## foo ##
+  ###   bar    ###
+.
+<h2>foo</h2>
+<h3>bar</h3>
+.
+
+It need not be the same length as the opening sequence:
+
+.
+# foo ##################################
+##### foo ##
+.
+<h1>foo</h1>
+<h5>foo</h5>
+.
+
+Spaces are allowed after the closing sequence:
+
+.
+### foo ###     
+.
+<h3>foo</h3>
+.
+
+A sequence of `#` characters with a nonspace character following it
+is not a closing sequence, but counts as part of the contents of the
+header:
+
+.
+### foo ### b
+.
+<h3>foo ### b</h3>
+.
+
+Backslash-escaped `#` characters do not count as part
+of the closing sequence:
+
+.
+### foo \###
+## foo \#\##
+# foo \#
+.
+<h3>foo #</h3>
+<h2>foo ##</h2>
+<h1>foo #</h1>
+.
+
+ATX headers need not be separated from surrounding content by blank
+lines, and they can interrupt paragraphs:
+
+.
+****
+## foo
+****
+.
+<hr />
+<h2>foo</h2>
+<hr />
+.
+
+.
+Foo bar
+# baz
+Bar foo
+.
+<p>Foo bar</p>
+<h1>baz</h1>
+<p>Bar foo</p>
+.
+
+ATX headers can be empty:
+
+.
+## 
+#
+### ###
+.
+<h2></h2>
+<h1></h1>
+<h3></h3>
+.
+
+## Setext headers
+
+A [setext header](#setext-header) <a id="setext-header"></a>
+consists of a line of text, containing at least one nonspace character,
+with no more than 3 spaces indentation, followed by a [setext header
+underline](#setext-header-underline).  A [setext header
+underline](#setext-header-underline) <a id="setext-header-underline"></a>
+is a sequence of `=` characters or a sequence of `-` characters, with no
+more than 3 spaces indentation and any number of trailing
+spaces.  The header is a level 1 header if `=` characters are used, and
+a level 2 header if `-` characters are used.  The contents of the header
+are the result of parsing the first line as Markdown inline content.
+
+In general, a setext header need not be preceded or followed by a
+blank line.  However, it cannot interrupt a paragraph, so when a
+setext header comes after a paragraph, a blank line is needed between
+them.
+
+Simple examples:
+
+.
+Foo *bar*
+=========
+
+Foo *bar*
+---------
+.
+<h1>Foo <em>bar</em></h1>
+<h2>Foo <em>bar</em></h2>
+.
+
+The underlining can be any length:
+
+.
+Foo
+-------------------------
+
+Foo
+=
+.
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+<h1>Foo</h1>
+.
+
+The header content can be indented up to three spaces, and need
+not line up with the underlining:
+
+.
+   Foo
+---
+
+  Foo
+-----
+
+  Foo
+  ===
+.
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+<h1>Foo</h1>
+.
+
+Four spaces indent is too much:
+
+.
+    Foo
+    ---
+
+    Foo
+---
+.
+<pre><code>Foo
+---
+
+Foo
+</code></pre>
+<hr />
+.
+
+The setext header underline can be indented up to three spaces, and
+may have trailing spaces:
+
+.
+Foo
+   ----      
+.
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+.
+
+Four spaces is too much:
+
+.
+Foo
+     ---
+.
+<p>Foo
+---</p>
+.
+
+The setext header underline cannot contain internal spaces:
+
+.
+Foo
+= =
+
+Foo
+--- -
+.
+<p>Foo
+= =</p>
+<p>Foo</p>
+<hr />
+.
+
+Trailing spaces in the content line do not cause a line break:
+
+.
+Foo  
+-----
+.
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+.
+
+Nor does a backslash at the end:
+
+.
+Foo\
+----
+.
+<h2>Foo\</h2>
+.
+
+Since indicators of block structure take precedence over
+indicators of inline structure, the following are setext headers:
+
+.
+`Foo
+----
+`
+
+<a title="a lot
+---
+of dashes"/>
+.
+<h2>`Foo</h2>
+<p>`</p>
+<h2>&lt;a title=&quot;a lot</h2>
+<p>of dashes&quot;/&gt;</p>
+.
+
+The setext header underline cannot be a lazy line:
+
+.
+> Foo
+---
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>Foo</p>
+</blockquote>
+<hr />
+.
+
+A setext header cannot interrupt a paragraph:
+
+.
+Foo
+Bar
+---
+
+Foo
+Bar
+===
+.
+<p>Foo
+Bar</p>
+<hr />
+<p>Foo
+Bar
+===</p>
+.
+
+But in general a blank line is not required before or after:
+
+.
+---
+Foo
+---
+Bar
+---
+Baz
+.
+<hr />
+<h2>Foo</h2>
+<h2>Bar</h2>
+<p>Baz</p>
+.
+
+Setext headers cannot be empty:
+
+.
+
+====
+.
+<p>====</p>
+.
+
+
+## Indented code blocks
+
+An [indented code block](#indented-code-block)
+<a id="indented-code-block"></a> is composed of one or more
+[indented chunks](#indented-chunk) separated by blank lines.
+An [indented chunk](#indented-chunk) <a id="indented-chunk"></a>
+is a sequence of non-blank lines, each indented four or more
+spaces.  An indented code block cannot interrupt a paragraph, so
+if it occurs before or after a paragraph, there must be an
+intervening blank line.  The contents of the code block are
+the literal contents of the lines, including trailing newlines,
+minus four spaces of indentation. An indented code block has no
+attributes.
+
+.
+    a simple
+      indented code block
+.
+<pre><code>a simple
+  indented code block
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+The contents are literal text, and do not get parsed as Markdown:
+
+.
+    <a/>
+    *hi*
+
+    - one
+.
+<pre><code>&lt;a/&gt;
+*hi*
+
+- one
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Here we have three chunks separated by blank lines:
+
+.
+    chunk1
+
+    chunk2
+  
+ 
+ 
+    chunk3
+.
+<pre><code>chunk1
+
+chunk2
+
+
+
+chunk3
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Any initial spaces beyond four will be included in the content, even
+in interior blank lines:
+
+.
+    chunk1
+      
+      chunk2
+.
+<pre><code>chunk1
+  
+  chunk2
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+An indented code block cannot interrupt a paragraph.  (This
+allows hanging indents and the like.)
+
+.
+Foo
+    bar
+
+.
+<p>Foo
+bar</p>
+.
+
+However, any non-blank line with fewer than four leading spaces ends
+the code block immediately.  So a paragraph may occur immediately
+after indented code:
+
+.
+    foo
+bar
+.
+<pre><code>foo
+</code></pre>
+<p>bar</p>
+.
+
+And indented code can occur immediately before and after other kinds of
+blocks:
+
+.
+# Header
+    foo
+Header
+------
+    foo
+----
+.
+<h1>Header</h1>
+<pre><code>foo
+</code></pre>
+<h2>Header</h2>
+<pre><code>foo
+</code></pre>
+<hr />
+.
+
+The first line can be indented more than four spaces:
+
+.
+        foo
+    bar
+.
+<pre><code>    foo
+bar
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Blank lines preceding or following an indented code block
+are not included in it:
+
+.
+
+    
+    foo
+    
+
+.
+<pre><code>foo
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Trailing spaces are included in the code block's content:
+
+.
+    foo  
+.
+<pre><code>foo  
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+
+## Fenced code blocks
+
+A [code fence](#code-fence) <a id="code-fence"></a> is a sequence
+of at least three consecutive backtick characters (`` ` ``) or
+tildes (`~`).  (Tildes and backticks cannot be mixed.)
+A [fenced code block](#fenced-code-block) <a id="fenced-code-block"></a>
+begins with a code fence, indented no more than three spaces.
+
+The line with the opening code fence may optionally contain some text
+following the code fence; this is trimmed of leading and trailing
+spaces and called the [info string](#info-string).
+<a id="info-string"></a> The info string may not contain any backtick
+characters.  (The reason for this restriction is that otherwise
+some inline code would be incorrectly interpreted as the
+beginning of a fenced code block.)
+
+The content of the code block consists of all subsequent lines, until
+a closing [code fence](#code-fence) of the same type as the code block
+began with (backticks or tildes), and with at least as many backticks
+or tildes as the opening code fence.  If the leading code fence is
+indented N spaces, then up to N spaces of indentation are removed from
+each line of the content (if present).  (If a content line is not
+indented, it is preserved unchanged.  If it is indented less than N
+spaces, all of the indentation is removed.)
+
+The closing code fence may be indented up to three spaces, and may be
+followed only by spaces, which are ignored.  If the end of the
+containing block (or document) is reached and no closing code fence
+has been found, the code block contains all of the lines after the
+opening code fence until the end of the containing block (or
+document).  (An alternative spec would require backtracking in the
+event that a closing code fence is not found.  But this makes parsing
+much less efficient, and there seems to be no real down side to the
+behavior described here.)
+
+A fenced code block may interrupt a paragraph, and does not require
+a blank line either before or after.
+
+The content of a code fence is treated as literal text, not parsed
+as inlines.  The first word of the info string is typically used to
+specify the language of the code sample, and rendered in the `class`
+attribute of the `code` tag.  However, this spec does not mandate any
+particular treatment of the info string.
+
+Here is a simple example with backticks:
+
+.
+```
+<
+ >
+```
+.
+<pre><code>&lt;
+ &gt;
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+With tildes:
+
+.
+~~~
+<
+ >
+~~~
+.
+<pre><code>&lt;
+ &gt;
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+The closing code fence must use the same character as the opening
+fence:
+
+.
+```
+aaa
+~~~
+```
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+~~~
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+~~~
+aaa
+```
+~~~
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+```
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+The closing code fence must be at least as long as the opening fence:
+
+.
+````
+aaa
+```
+``````
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+```
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+~~~~
+aaa
+~~~
+~~~~
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+~~~
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Unclosed code blocks are closed by the end of the document:
+
+.
+```
+.
+<pre><code></code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+`````
+
+```
+aaa
+.
+<pre><code>
+```
+aaa
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+A code block can have all empty lines as its content:
+
+.
+```
+
+  
+```
+.
+<pre><code>
+  
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+A code block can be empty:
+
+.
+```
+```
+.
+<pre><code></code></pre>
+.
+
+Fences can be indented.  If the opening fence is indented,
+content lines will have equivalent opening indentation removed,
+if present:
+
+.
+ ```
+ aaa
+aaa
+```
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+aaa
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+  ```
+aaa
+  aaa
+aaa
+  ```
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+aaa
+aaa
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+   ```
+   aaa
+    aaa
+  aaa
+   ```
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+ aaa
+aaa
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Four spaces indentation produces an indented code block:
+
+.
+    ```
+    aaa
+    ```
+.
+<pre><code>```
+aaa
+```
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Code fences (opening and closing) cannot contain internal spaces:
+
+.
+``` ```
+aaa
+.
+<p><code></code>
+aaa</p>
+.
+
+.
+~~~~~~
+aaa
+~~~ ~~
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+~~~ ~~
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Fenced code blocks can interrupt paragraphs, and can be followed
+directly by paragraphs, without a blank line between:
+
+.
+foo
+```
+bar
+```
+baz
+.
+<p>foo</p>
+<pre><code>bar
+</code></pre>
+<p>baz</p>
+.
+
+Other blocks can also occur before and after fenced code blocks
+without an intervening blank line:
+
+.
+foo
+---
+~~~
+bar
+~~~
+# baz
+.
+<h2>foo</h2>
+<pre><code>bar
+</code></pre>
+<h1>baz</h1>
+.
+
+An [info string](#info-string) can be provided after the opening code fence.
+Opening and closing spaces will be stripped, and the first word, prefixed
+with `language-`, is used as the value for the `class` attribute of the
+`code` element within the enclosing `pre` element.
+
+.
+```ruby
+def foo(x)
+  return 3
+end
+```
+.
+<pre><code class="language-ruby">def foo(x)
+  return 3
+end
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+~~~~    ruby startline=3 $%@#$
+def foo(x)
+  return 3
+end
+~~~~~~~
+.
+<pre><code class="language-ruby">def foo(x)
+  return 3
+end
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+````;
+````
+.
+<pre><code class="language-;"></code></pre>
+.
+
+Info strings for backtick code blocks cannot contain backticks:
+
+.
+``` aa ```
+foo
+.
+<p><code>aa</code>
+foo</p>
+.
+
+Closing code fences cannot have info strings:
+
+.
+```
+``` aaa
+```
+.
+<pre><code>``` aaa
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+
+## HTML blocks
+
+An [HTML block tag](#html-block-tag) <a id="html-block-tag"></a> is
+an [open tag](#open-tag) or [closing tag](#closing-tag) whose tag
+name is one of the following (case-insensitive):
+`article`, `header`, `aside`, `hgroup`, `blockquote`, `hr`, `iframe`,
+`body`, `li`, `map`, `button`, `object`, `canvas`, `ol`, `caption`,
+`output`, `col`, `p`, `colgroup`, `pre`, `dd`, `progress`, `div`,
+`section`, `dl`, `table`, `td`, `dt`, `tbody`, `embed`, `textarea`,
+`fieldset`, `tfoot`, `figcaption`, `th`, `figure`, `thead`, `footer`,
+`tr`, `form`, `ul`, `h1`, `h2`, `h3`, `h4`, `h5`, `h6`, `video`,
+`script`, `style`.
+
+An [HTML block](#html-block) <a id="html-block"></a> begins with an
+[HTML block tag](#html-block-tag), [HTML comment](#html-comment),
+[processing instruction](#processing-instruction),
+[declaration](#declaration), or [CDATA section](#cdata-section).
+It ends when a [blank line](#blank-line) or the end of the
+input is encountered.  The initial line may be indented up to three
+spaces, and subsequent lines may have any indentation.  The contents
+of the HTML block are interpreted as raw HTML, and will not be escaped
+in HTML output.
+
+Some simple examples:
+
+.
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+           hi
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+okay.
+.
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td>
+           hi
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>okay.</p>
+.
+
+.
+ <div>
+  *hello*
+         <foo><a>
+.
+ <div>
+  *hello*
+         <foo><a>
+.
+
+Here we have two code blocks with a Markdown paragraph between them:
+
+.
+<DIV CLASS="foo">
+
+*Markdown*
+
+</DIV>
+.
+<DIV CLASS="foo">
+<p><em>Markdown</em></p>
+</DIV>
+.
+
+In the following example, what looks like a Markdown code block
+is actually part of the HTML block, which continues until a blank
+line or the end of the document is reached:
+
+.
+<div></div>
+``` c
+int x = 33;
+```
+.
+<div></div>
+``` c
+int x = 33;
+```
+.
+
+A comment:
+
+.
+<!-- Foo
+bar
+   baz -->
+.
+<!-- Foo
+bar
+   baz -->
+.
+
+A processing instruction:
+
+.
+<?php
+  echo 'foo'
+?>
+.
+<?php
+  echo 'foo'
+?>
+.
+
+CDATA:
+
+.
+<![CDATA[
+function matchwo(a,b)
+{
+if (a < b && a < 0) then
+  {
+  return 1;
+  }
+else
+  {
+  return 0;
+  }
+}
+]]>
+.
+<![CDATA[
+function matchwo(a,b)
+{
+if (a < b && a < 0) then
+  {
+  return 1;
+  }
+else
+  {
+  return 0;
+  }
+}
+]]>
+.
+
+The opening tag can be indented 1-3 spaces, but not 4:
+
+.
+  <!-- foo -->
+
+    <!-- foo -->
+.
+  <!-- foo -->
+<pre><code>&lt;!-- foo --&gt;
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+An HTML block can interrupt a paragraph, and need not be preceded
+by a blank line.
+
+.
+Foo
+<div>
+bar
+</div>
+.
+<p>Foo</p>
+<div>
+bar
+</div>
+.
+
+However, a following blank line is always needed, except at the end of
+a document:
+
+.
+<div>
+bar
+</div>
+*foo*
+.
+<div>
+bar
+</div>
+*foo*
+.
+
+An incomplete HTML block tag may also start an HTML block:
+
+.
+<div class
+foo
+.
+<div class
+foo
+.
+
+This rule differs from John Gruber's original Markdown syntax
+specification, which says:
+
+> The only restrictions are that block-level HTML elements —
+> e.g. `<div>`, `<table>`, `<pre>`, `<p>`, etc. — must be separated from
+> surrounding content by blank lines, and the start and end tags of the
+> block should not be indented with tabs or spaces.
+
+In some ways Gruber's rule is more restrictive than the one given
+here:
+
+- It requires that an HTML block be preceded by a blank line.
+- It does not allow the start tag to be indented.
+- It requires a matching end tag, which it also does not allow to
+  be indented.
+
+Indeed, most Markdown implementations, including some of Gruber's
+own perl implementations, do not impose these restrictions.
+
+There is one respect, however, in which Gruber's rule is more liberal
+than the one given here, since it allows blank lines to occur inside
+an HTML block.  There are two reasons for disallowing them here.
+First, it removes the need to parse balanced tags, which is
+expensive and can require backtracking from the end of the document
+if no matching end tag is found. Second, it provides a very simple
+and flexible way of including Markdown content inside HTML tags:
+simply separate the Markdown from the HTML using blank lines:
+
+.
+<div>
+
+*Emphasized* text.
+
+</div>
+.
+<div>
+<p><em>Emphasized</em> text.</p>
+</div>
+.
+
+Compare:
+
+.
+<div>
+*Emphasized* text.
+</div>
+.
+<div>
+*Emphasized* text.
+</div>
+.
+
+Some Markdown implementations have adopted a convention of
+interpreting content inside tags as text if the open tag has
+the attribute `markdown=1`.  The rule given above seems a simpler and
+more elegant way of achieving the same expressive power, which is also
+much simpler to parse.
+
+The main potential drawback is that one can no longer paste HTML
+blocks into Markdown documents with 100% reliability.  However,
+*in most cases* this will work fine, because the blank lines in
+HTML are usually followed by HTML block tags.  For example:
+
+.
+<table>
+
+<tr>
+
+<td>
+Hi
+</td>
+
+</tr>
+
+</table>
+.
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td>
+Hi
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+.
+
+Moreover, blank lines are usually not necessary and can be
+deleted.  The exception is inside `<pre>` tags; here, one can
+replace the blank lines with `&#10;` entities.
+
+So there is no important loss of expressive power with the new rule.
+
+## Link reference definitions
+
+A [link reference definition](#link-reference-definition)
+<a id="link-reference-definition"></a> consists of a [link
+label](#link-label), indented up to three spaces, followed
+by a colon (`:`), optional blank space (including up to one
+newline), a [link destination](#link-destination), optional
+blank space (including up to one newline), and an optional [link
+title](#link-title), which if it is present must be separated
+from the [link destination](#link-destination) by whitespace.
+No further non-space characters may occur on the line.
+
+A [link reference-definition](#link-reference-definition)
+does not correspond to a structural element of a document.  Instead, it
+defines a label which can be used in [reference links](#reference-link)
+and reference-style [images](#image) elsewhere in the document.  [Link
+reference definitions] can come either before or after the links that use
+them.
+
+.
+[foo]: /url "title"
+
+[foo]
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+   [foo]: 
+      /url  
+           'the title'  
+
+[foo]
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="the title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[Foo*bar\]]:my_(url) 'title (with parens)'
+
+[Foo*bar\]]
+.
+<p><a href="my_(url)" title="title (with parens)">Foo*bar]</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[Foo bar]:
+<my url>
+'title'
+
+[Foo bar]
+.
+<p><a href="my%20url" title="title">Foo bar</a></p>
+.
+
+The title may be omitted:
+
+.
+[foo]:
+/url
+
+[foo]
+.
+<p><a href="/url">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+The link destination may not be omitted:
+
+.
+[foo]:
+
+[foo]
+.
+<p>[foo]:</p>
+<p>[foo]</p>
+.
+
+A link can come before its corresponding definition:
+
+.
+[foo]
+
+[foo]: url
+.
+<p><a href="url">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+If there are several matching definitions, the first one takes
+precedence:
+
+.
+[foo]
+
+[foo]: first
+[foo]: second
+.
+<p><a href="first">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+As noted in the section on [Links], matching of labels is
+case-insensitive (see [matches](#matches)).
+
+.
+[FOO]: /url
+
+[Foo]
+.
+<p><a href="/url">Foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[ΑΓΩ]: /φου
+
+[αγω]
+.
+<p><a href="/%CF%86%CE%BF%CF%85">αγω</a></p>
+.
+
+Here is a link reference definition with no corresponding link.
+It contributes nothing to the document.
+
+.
+[foo]: /url
+.
+.
+
+This is not a link reference definition, because there are
+non-space characters after the title:
+
+.
+[foo]: /url "title" ok
+.
+<p>[foo]: /url &quot;title&quot; ok</p>
+.
+
+This is not a link reference definition, because it is indented
+four spaces:
+
+.
+    [foo]: /url "title"
+
+[foo]
+.
+<pre><code>[foo]: /url &quot;title&quot;
+</code></pre>
+<p>[foo]</p>
+.
+
+This is not a link reference definition, because it occurs inside
+a code block:
+
+.
+```
+[foo]: /url
+```
+
+[foo]
+.
+<pre><code>[foo]: /url
+</code></pre>
+<p>[foo]</p>
+.
+
+A [link reference definition](#link-reference-definition) cannot
+interrupt a paragraph.
+
+.
+Foo
+[bar]: /baz
+
+[bar]
+.
+<p>Foo
+[bar]: /baz</p>
+<p>[bar]</p>
+.
+
+However, it can directly follow other block elements, such as headers
+and horizontal rules, and it need not be followed by a blank line.
+
+.
+# [Foo]
+[foo]: /url
+> bar
+.
+<h1><a href="/url">Foo</a></h1>
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+Several [link references](#link-reference) can occur one after another,
+without intervening blank lines.
+
+.
+[foo]: /foo-url "foo"
+[bar]: /bar-url
+  "bar"
+[baz]: /baz-url
+
+[foo],
+[bar],
+[baz]
+.
+<p><a href="/foo-url" title="foo">foo</a>,
+<a href="/bar-url" title="bar">bar</a>,
+<a href="/baz-url">baz</a></p>
+.
+
+[Link reference definitions](#link-reference-definition) can occur
+inside block containers, like lists and block quotations.  They
+affect the entire document, not just the container in which they
+are defined:
+
+.
+[foo]
+
+> [foo]: /url
+.
+<p><a href="/url">foo</a></p>
+<blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+
+## Paragraphs
+
+A sequence of non-blank lines that cannot be interpreted as other
+kinds of blocks forms a [paragraph](#paragraph).<a id="paragraph"></a>
+The contents of the paragraph are the result of parsing the
+paragraph's raw content as inlines.  The paragraph's raw content
+is formed by concatenating the lines and removing initial and final
+spaces.
+
+A simple example with two paragraphs:
+
+.
+aaa
+
+bbb
+.
+<p>aaa</p>
+<p>bbb</p>
+.
+
+Paragraphs can contain multiple lines, but no blank lines:
+
+.
+aaa
+bbb
+
+ccc
+ddd
+.
+<p>aaa
+bbb</p>
+<p>ccc
+ddd</p>
+.
+
+Multiple blank lines between paragraph have no effect:
+
+.
+aaa
+
+
+bbb
+.
+<p>aaa</p>
+<p>bbb</p>
+.
+
+Leading spaces are skipped:
+
+.
+  aaa
+ bbb
+.
+<p>aaa
+bbb</p>
+.
+
+Lines after the first may be indented any amount, since indented
+code blocks cannot interrupt paragraphs.
+
+.
+aaa
+             bbb
+                                       ccc
+.
+<p>aaa
+bbb
+ccc</p>
+.
+
+However, the first line may be indented at most three spaces,
+or an indented code block will be triggered:
+
+.
+   aaa
+bbb
+.
+<p>aaa
+bbb</p>
+.
+
+.
+    aaa
+bbb
+.
+<pre><code>aaa
+</code></pre>
+<p>bbb</p>
+.
+
+Final spaces are stripped before inline parsing, so a paragraph
+that ends with two or more spaces will not end with a hard line
+break:
+
+.
+aaa     
+bbb     
+.
+<p>aaa<br />
+bbb</p>
+.
+
+## Blank lines
+
+[Blank lines](#blank-line) between block-level elements are ignored,
+except for the role they play in determining whether a [list](#list)
+is [tight](#tight) or [loose](#loose).
+
+Blank lines at the beginning and end of the document are also ignored.
+
+.
+  
+
+aaa
+  
+
+# aaa
+
+  
+.
+<p>aaa</p>
+<h1>aaa</h1>
+.
+
+
+# Container blocks
+
+A [container block](#container-block) is a block that has other
+blocks as its contents.  There are two basic kinds of container blocks:
+[block quotes](#block-quote) and [list items](#list-item).
+[Lists](#list) are meta-containers for [list items](#list-item).
+
+We define the syntax for container blocks recursively.  The general
+form of the definition is:
+
+> If X is a sequence of blocks, then the result of
+> transforming X in such-and-such a way is a container of type Y
+> with these blocks as its content.
+
+So, we explain what counts as a block quote or list item by explaining
+how these can be *generated* from their contents. This should suffice
+to define the syntax, although it does not give a recipe for *parsing*
+these constructions.  (A recipe is provided below in the section entitled
+[A parsing strategy](#appendix-a-a-parsing-strategy).)
+
+## Block quotes
+
+A [block quote marker](#block-quote-marker) <a id="block-quote-marker"></a>
+consists of 0-3 spaces of initial indent, plus (a) the character `>` together
+with a following space, or (b) a single character `>` not followed by a space.
+
+The following rules define [block quotes](#block-quote):
+<a id="block-quote"></a>
+
+1.  **Basic case.**  If a string of lines *Ls* constitute a sequence
+    of blocks *Bs*, then the result of prepending a [block quote
+    marker](#block-quote-marker) to the beginning of each line in *Ls*
+    is a [block quote](#block-quote) containing *Bs*.
+
+2.  **Laziness.**  If a string of lines *Ls* constitute a [block
+    quote](#block-quote) with contents *Bs*, then the result of deleting
+    the initial [block quote marker](#block-quote-marker) from one or
+    more lines in which the next non-space character after the [block
+    quote marker](#block-quote-marker) is [paragraph continuation
+    text](#paragraph-continuation-text) is a block quote with *Bs* as
+    its content.  <a id="paragraph-continuation-text"></a>
+    [Paragraph continuation text](#paragraph-continuation-text) is text
+    that will be parsed as part of the content of a paragraph, but does
+    not occur at the beginning of the paragraph.
+
+3.  **Consecutiveness.**  A document cannot contain two [block
+    quotes](#block-quote) in a row unless there is a [blank
+    line](#blank-line) between them.
+
+Nothing else counts as a [block quote](#block-quote).
+
+Here is a simple example:
+
+.
+> # Foo
+> bar
+> baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<h1>Foo</h1>
+<p>bar
+baz</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+The spaces after the `>` characters can be omitted:
+
+.
+># Foo
+>bar
+> baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<h1>Foo</h1>
+<p>bar
+baz</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+The `>` characters can be indented 1-3 spaces:
+
+.
+   > # Foo
+   > bar
+ > baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<h1>Foo</h1>
+<p>bar
+baz</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+Four spaces gives us a code block:
+
+.
+    > # Foo
+    > bar
+    > baz
+.
+<pre><code>&gt; # Foo
+&gt; bar
+&gt; baz
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+The Laziness clause allows us to omit the `>` before a
+paragraph continuation line:
+
+.
+> # Foo
+> bar
+baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<h1>Foo</h1>
+<p>bar
+baz</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+A block quote can contain some lazy and some non-lazy
+continuation lines:
+
+.
+> bar
+baz
+> foo
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar
+baz
+foo</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+Laziness only applies to lines that are continuations of
+paragraphs. Lines containing characters or indentation that indicate
+block structure cannot be lazy.
+
+.
+> foo
+---
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo</p>
+</blockquote>
+<hr />
+.
+
+.
+> - foo
+- bar
+.
+<blockquote>
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+</ul>
+</blockquote>
+<ul>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+>     foo
+    bar
+.
+<blockquote>
+<pre><code>foo
+</code></pre>
+</blockquote>
+<pre><code>bar
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+> ```
+foo
+```
+.
+<blockquote>
+<pre><code></code></pre>
+</blockquote>
+<p>foo</p>
+<pre><code></code></pre>
+.
+
+A block quote can be empty:
+
+.
+>
+.
+<blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+.
+>
+>  
+> 
+.
+<blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+A block quote can have initial or final blank lines:
+
+.
+>
+> foo
+>  
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+A blank line always separates block quotes:
+
+.
+> foo
+
+> bar
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo</p>
+</blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+(Most current Markdown implementations, including John Gruber's
+original `Markdown.pl`, will parse this example as a single block quote
+with two paragraphs.  But it seems better to allow the author to decide
+whether two block quotes or one are wanted.)
+
+Consecutiveness means that if we put these block quotes together,
+we get a single block quote:
+
+.
+> foo
+> bar
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo
+bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+To get a block quote with two paragraphs, use:
+
+.
+> foo
+>
+> bar
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo</p>
+<p>bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+Block quotes can interrupt paragraphs:
+
+.
+foo
+> bar
+.
+<p>foo</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+In general, blank lines are not needed before or after block
+quotes:
+
+.
+> aaa
+***
+> bbb
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>aaa</p>
+</blockquote>
+<hr />
+<blockquote>
+<p>bbb</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+However, because of laziness, a blank line is needed between
+a block quote and a following paragraph:
+
+.
+> bar
+baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar
+baz</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+.
+> bar
+
+baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>baz</p>
+.
+
+.
+> bar
+>
+baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<p>bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>baz</p>
+.
+
+It is a consequence of the Laziness rule that any number
+of initial `>`s may be omitted on a continuation line of a
+nested block quote:
+
+.
+> > > foo
+bar
+.
+<blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo
+bar</p>
+</blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+.
+>>> foo
+> bar
+>>baz
+.
+<blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<p>foo
+bar
+baz</p>
+</blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+When including an indented code block in a block quote,
+remember that the [block quote marker](#block-quote-marker) includes
+both the `>` and a following space.  So *five spaces* are needed after
+the `>`:
+
+.
+>     code
+
+>    not code
+.
+<blockquote>
+<pre><code>code
+</code></pre>
+</blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<p>not code</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+
+## List items
+
+A [list marker](#list-marker) <a id="list-marker"></a> is a
+[bullet list marker](#bullet-list-marker) or an [ordered list
+marker](#ordered-list-marker).
+
+A [bullet list marker](#bullet-list-marker) <a id="bullet-list-marker"></a>
+is a `-`, `+`, or `*` character.
+
+An [ordered list marker](#ordered-list-marker) <a id="ordered-list-marker"></a>
+is a sequence of one of more digits (`0-9`), followed by either a
+`.` character or a `)` character.
+
+The following rules define [list items](#list-item):
+
+1.  **Basic case.**  If a sequence of lines *Ls* constitute a sequence of
+    blocks *Bs* starting with a non-space character and not separated
+    from each other by more than one blank line, and *M* is a list
+    marker *M* of width *W* followed by 0 < *N* < 5 spaces, then the result
+    of prepending *M* and the following spaces to the first line of
+    *Ls*, and indenting subsequent lines of *Ls* by *W + N* spaces, is a
+    list item with *Bs* as its contents.  The type of the list item
+    (bullet or ordered) is determined by the type of its list marker.
+    If the list item is ordered, then it is also assigned a start
+    number, based on the ordered list marker.
+
+For example, let *Ls* be the lines
+
+.
+A paragraph
+with two lines.
+
+    indented code
+
+> A block quote.
+.
+<p>A paragraph
+with two lines.</p>
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<blockquote>
+<p>A block quote.</p>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+And let *M* be the marker `1.`, and *N* = 2.  Then rule #1 says
+that the following is an ordered list item with start number 1,
+and the same contents as *Ls*:
+
+.
+1.  A paragraph
+    with two lines.
+
+        indented code
+
+    > A block quote.
+.
+<ol>
+<li><p>A paragraph
+with two lines.</p>
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<blockquote>
+<p>A block quote.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+The most important thing to notice is that the position of
+the text after the list marker determines how much indentation
+is needed in subsequent blocks in the list item.  If the list
+marker takes up two spaces, and there are three spaces between
+the list marker and the next nonspace character, then blocks
+must be indented five spaces in order to fall under the list
+item.
+
+Here are some examples showing how far content must be indented to be
+put under the list item:
+
+.
+- one
+
+ two
+.
+<ul>
+<li>one</li>
+</ul>
+<p>two</p>
+.
+
+.
+- one
+
+  two
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>one</p>
+<p>two</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+ -    one
+
+     two
+.
+<ul>
+<li>one</li>
+</ul>
+<pre><code> two
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+ -    one
+
+      two
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>one</p>
+<p>two</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+It is tempting to think of this in terms of columns:  the continuation
+blocks must be indented at least to the column of the first nonspace
+character after the list marker.  However, that is not quite right.
+The spaces after the list marker determine how much relative indentation
+is needed.  Which column this indentation reaches will depend on
+how the list item is embedded in other constructions, as shown by
+this example:
+
+.
+   > > 1.  one
+>>
+>>     two
+.
+<blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<ol>
+<li><p>one</p>
+<p>two</p></li>
+</ol>
+</blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+Here `two` occurs in the same column as the list marker `1.`,
+but is actually contained in the list item, because there is
+sufficent indentation after the last containing blockquote marker.
+
+The converse is also possible.  In the following example, the word `two`
+occurs far to the right of the initial text of the list item, `one`, but
+it is not considered part of the list item, because it is not indented
+far enough past the blockquote marker:
+
+.
+>>- one
+>>
+  >  > two
+.
+<blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<ul>
+<li>one</li>
+</ul>
+<p>two</p>
+</blockquote>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+A list item may not contain blocks that are separated by more than
+one blank line.  Thus, two blank lines will end a list, unless the
+two blanks are contained in a [fenced code block](#fenced-code-block).
+
+.
+- foo
+
+  bar
+
+- foo
+
+
+  bar
+
+- ```
+  foo
+
+
+  bar
+  ```
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<p>bar</p></li>
+<li><p>foo</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p>bar</p>
+<ul>
+<li><pre><code>foo
+
+
+bar
+</code></pre></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+A list item may contain any kind of block:
+
+.
+1.  foo
+
+    ```
+    bar
+    ```
+
+    baz
+
+    > bam
+.
+<ol>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<pre><code>bar
+</code></pre>
+<p>baz</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>bam</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+2.  **Item starting with indented code.**  If a sequence of lines *Ls*
+    constitute a sequence of blocks *Bs* starting with an indented code
+    block and not separated from each other by more than one blank line,
+    and *M* is a list marker *M* of width *W* followed by
+    one space, then the result of prepending *M* and the following
+    space to the first line of *Ls*, and indenting subsequent lines of
+    *Ls* by *W + 1* spaces, is a list item with *Bs* as its contents.
+    If a line is empty, then it need not be indented.  The type of the
+    list item (bullet or ordered) is determined by the type of its list
+    marker.  If the list item is ordered, then it is also assigned a
+    start number, based on the ordered list marker.
+
+An indented code block will have to be indented four spaces beyond
+the edge of the region where text will be included in the list item.
+In the following case that is 6 spaces:
+
+.
+- foo
+
+      bar
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<pre><code>bar
+</code></pre></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+And in this case it is 11 spaces:
+
+.
+  10.  foo
+
+           bar
+.
+<ol start="10">
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<pre><code>bar
+</code></pre></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+If the *first* block in the list item is an indented code block,
+then by rule #2, the contents must be indented *one* space after the
+list marker:
+
+.
+    indented code
+
+paragraph
+
+    more code
+.
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<p>paragraph</p>
+<pre><code>more code
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+1.     indented code
+
+   paragraph
+
+       more code
+.
+<ol>
+<li><pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<p>paragraph</p>
+<pre><code>more code
+</code></pre></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Note that an additional space indent is interpreted as space
+inside the code block:
+
+.
+1.      indented code
+
+   paragraph
+
+       more code
+.
+<ol>
+<li><pre><code> indented code
+</code></pre>
+<p>paragraph</p>
+<pre><code>more code
+</code></pre></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Note that rules #1 and #2 only apply to two cases:  (a) cases
+in which the lines to be included in a list item begin with a nonspace
+character, and (b) cases in which they begin with an indented code
+block.  In a case like the following, where the first block begins with
+a three-space indent, the rules do not allow us to form a list item by
+indenting the whole thing and prepending a list marker:
+
+.
+   foo
+
+bar
+.
+<p>foo</p>
+<p>bar</p>
+.
+
+.
+-    foo
+
+  bar
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+</ul>
+<p>bar</p>
+.
+
+This is not a significant restriction, because when a block begins
+with 1-3 spaces indent, the indentation can always be removed without
+a change in interpretation, allowing rule #1 to be applied.  So, in
+the above case:
+
+.
+-  foo
+
+   bar
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<p>bar</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+
+3.  **Indentation.**  If a sequence of lines *Ls* constitutes a list item
+    according to rule #1 or #2, then the result of indenting each line
+    of *L* by 1-3 spaces (the same for each line) also constitutes a
+    list item with the same contents and attributes.  If a line is
+    empty, then it need not be indented.
+
+Indented one space:
+
+.
+ 1.  A paragraph
+     with two lines.
+
+         indented code
+
+     > A block quote.
+.
+<ol>
+<li><p>A paragraph
+with two lines.</p>
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<blockquote>
+<p>A block quote.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Indented two spaces:
+
+.
+  1.  A paragraph
+      with two lines.
+
+          indented code
+
+      > A block quote.
+.
+<ol>
+<li><p>A paragraph
+with two lines.</p>
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<blockquote>
+<p>A block quote.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Indented three spaces:
+
+.
+   1.  A paragraph
+       with two lines.
+
+           indented code
+
+       > A block quote.
+.
+<ol>
+<li><p>A paragraph
+with two lines.</p>
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<blockquote>
+<p>A block quote.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Four spaces indent gives a code block:
+
+.
+    1.  A paragraph
+        with two lines.
+
+            indented code
+
+        > A block quote.
+.
+<pre><code>1.  A paragraph
+    with two lines.
+
+        indented code
+
+    &gt; A block quote.
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+
+4.  **Laziness.**  If a string of lines *Ls* constitute a [list
+    item](#list-item) with contents *Bs*, then the result of deleting
+    some or all of the indentation from one or more lines in which the
+    next non-space character after the indentation is
+    [paragraph continuation text](#paragraph-continuation-text) is a
+    list item with the same contents and attributes.
+
+Here is an example with lazy continuation lines:
+
+.
+  1.  A paragraph
+with two lines.
+
+          indented code
+
+      > A block quote.
+.
+<ol>
+<li><p>A paragraph
+with two lines.</p>
+<pre><code>indented code
+</code></pre>
+<blockquote>
+<p>A block quote.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Indentation can be partially deleted:
+
+.
+  1.  A paragraph
+    with two lines.
+.
+<ol>
+<li>A paragraph
+with two lines.</li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+These examples show how laziness can work in nested structures:
+
+.
+> 1. > Blockquote
+continued here.
+.
+<blockquote>
+<ol>
+<li><blockquote>
+<p>Blockquote
+continued here.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+.
+> 1. > Blockquote
+> continued here.
+.
+<blockquote>
+<ol>
+<li><blockquote>
+<p>Blockquote
+continued here.</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+</ol>
+</blockquote>
+.
+
+
+5.  **That's all.** Nothing that is not counted as a list item by rules
+    #1--4 counts as a [list item](#list-item).
+
+The rules for sublists follow from the general rules above.  A sublist
+must be indented the same number of spaces a paragraph would need to be
+in order to be included in the list item.
+
+So, in this case we need two spaces indent:
+
+.
+- foo
+  - bar
+    - baz
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo
+<ul>
+<li>bar
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+One is not enough:
+
+.
+- foo
+ - bar
+  - baz
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+<li>bar</li>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+Here we need four, because the list marker is wider:
+
+.
+10) foo
+    - bar
+.
+<ol start="10">
+<li>foo
+<ul>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+Three is not enough:
+
+.
+10) foo
+   - bar
+.
+<ol start="10">
+<li>foo</li>
+</ol>
+<ul>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+A list may be the first block in a list item:
+
+.
+- - foo
+.
+<ul>
+<li><ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+1. - 2. foo
+.
+<ol>
+<li><ul>
+<li><ol start="2">
+<li>foo</li>
+</ol></li>
+</ul></li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+A list item may be empty:
+
+.
+- foo
+-
+- bar
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+<li></li>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+-
+.
+<ul>
+<li></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+### Motivation
+
+John Gruber's Markdown spec says the following about list items:
+
+1. "List markers typically start at the left margin, but may be indented
+   by up to three spaces. List markers must be followed by one or more
+   spaces or a tab."
+
+2. "To make lists look nice, you can wrap items with hanging indents....
+   But if you don't want to, you don't have to."
+
+3. "List items may consist of multiple paragraphs. Each subsequent
+   paragraph in a list item must be indented by either 4 spaces or one
+   tab."
+
+4. "It looks nice if you indent every line of the subsequent paragraphs,
+   but here again, Markdown will allow you to be lazy."
+
+5. "To put a blockquote within a list item, the blockquote's `>`
+   delimiters need to be indented."
+
+6. "To put a code block within a list item, the code block needs to be
+   indented twice — 8 spaces or two tabs."
+
+These rules specify that a paragraph under a list item must be indented
+four spaces (presumably, from the left margin, rather than the start of
+the list marker, but this is not said), and that code under a list item
+must be indented eight spaces instead of the usual four.  They also say
+that a block quote must be indented, but not by how much; however, the
+example given has four spaces indentation.  Although nothing is said
+about other kinds of block-level content, it is certainly reasonable to
+infer that *all* block elements under a list item, including other
+lists, must be indented four spaces.  This principle has been called the
+*four-space rule*.
+
+The four-space rule is clear and principled, and if the reference
+implementation `Markdown.pl` had followed it, it probably would have
+become the standard.  However, `Markdown.pl` allowed paragraphs and
+sublists to start with only two spaces indentation, at least on the
+outer level.  Worse, its behavior was inconsistent: a sublist of an
+outer-level list needed two spaces indentation, but a sublist of this
+sublist needed three spaces.  It is not surprising, then, that different
+implementations of Markdown have developed very different rules for
+determining what comes under a list item.  (Pandoc and python-Markdown,
+for example, stuck with Gruber's syntax description and the four-space
+rule, while discount, redcarpet, marked, PHP Markdown, and others
+followed `Markdown.pl`'s behavior more closely.)
+
+Unfortunately, given the divergences between implementations, there
+is no way to give a spec for list items that will be guaranteed not
+to break any existing documents.  However, the spec given here should
+correctly handle lists formatted with either the four-space rule or
+the more forgiving `Markdown.pl` behavior, provided they are laid out
+in a way that is natural for a human to read.
+
+The strategy here is to let the width and indentation of the list marker
+determine the indentation necessary for blocks to fall under the list
+item, rather than having a fixed and arbitrary number.  The writer can
+think of the body of the list item as a unit which gets indented to the
+right enough to fit the list marker (and any indentation on the list
+marker).  (The laziness rule, #4, then allows continuation lines to be
+unindented if needed.)
+
+This rule is superior, we claim, to any rule requiring a fixed level of
+indentation from the margin.  The four-space rule is clear but
+unnatural. It is quite unintuitive that
+
+``` markdown
+- foo
+
+  bar
+
+  - baz
+```
+
+should be parsed as two lists with an intervening paragraph,
+
+``` html
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+</ul>
+<p>bar</p>
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul>
+```
+
+as the four-space rule demands, rather than a single list,
+
+``` html
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<p>bar</p>
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+```
+
+The choice of four spaces is arbitrary.  It can be learned, but it is
+not likely to be guessed, and it trips up beginners regularly.
+
+Would it help to adopt a two-space rule?  The problem is that such
+a rule, together with the rule allowing 1--3 spaces indentation of the
+initial list marker, allows text that is indented *less than* the
+original list marker to be included in the list item. For example,
+`Markdown.pl` parses
+
+``` markdown
+   - one
+
+  two
+```
+
+as a single list item, with `two` a continuation paragraph:
+
+``` html
+<ul>
+<li><p>one</p>
+<p>two</p></li>
+</ul>
+```
+
+and similarly
+
+``` markdown
+>   - one
+>
+>  two
+```
+
+as
+
+``` html
+<blockquote>
+<ul>
+<li><p>one</p>
+<p>two</p></li>
+</ul>
+</blockquote>
+```
+
+This is extremely unintuitive.
+
+Rather than requiring a fixed indent from the margin, we could require
+a fixed indent (say, two spaces, or even one space) from the list marker (which
+may itself be indented).  This proposal would remove the last anomaly
+discussed.  Unlike the spec presented above, it would count the following
+as a list item with a subparagraph, even though the paragraph `bar`
+is not indented as far as the first paragraph `foo`:
+
+``` markdown
+ 10. foo
+
+   bar  
+```
+
+Arguably this text does read like a list item with `bar` as a subparagraph,
+which may count in favor of the proposal.  However, on this proposal indented
+code would have to be indented six spaces after the list marker.  And this
+would break a lot of existing Markdown, which has the pattern:
+
+``` markdown
+1.  foo
+
+        indented code
+```
+
+where the code is indented eight spaces.  The spec above, by contrast, will
+parse this text as expected, since the code block's indentation is measured
+from the beginning of `foo`.
+
+The one case that needs special treatment is a list item that *starts*
+with indented code.  How much indentation is required in that case, since
+we don't have a "first paragraph" to measure from?  Rule #2 simply stipulates
+that in such cases, we require one space indentation from the list marker
+(and then the normal four spaces for the indented code).  This will match the
+four-space rule in cases where the list marker plus its initial indentation
+takes four spaces (a common case), but diverge in other cases.
+
+## Lists
+
+A [list](#list) <a id="list"></a> is a sequence of one or more
+list items [of the same type](#of-the-same-type).  The list items
+may be separated by single [blank lines](#blank-line), but two
+blank lines end all containing lists.
+
+Two list items are [of the same type](#of-the-same-type)
+<a id="of-the-same-type"></a> if they begin with a [list
+marker](#list-marker) of the same type.  Two list markers are of the
+same type if (a) they are bullet list markers using the same character
+(`-`, `+`, or `*`) or (b) they are ordered list numbers with the same
+delimiter (either `.` or `)`).
+
+A list is an [ordered list](#ordered-list) <a id="ordered-list"></a>
+if its constituent list items begin with
+[ordered list markers](#ordered-list-marker), and a [bullet
+list](#bullet-list) <a id="bullet-list"></a> if its constituent list
+items begin with [bullet list markers](#bullet-list-marker).
+
+The [start number](#start-number) <a id="start-number"></a>
+of an [ordered list](#ordered-list) is determined by the list number of
+its initial list item.  The numbers of subsequent list items are
+disregarded.
+
+A list is [loose](#loose) if it any of its constituent list items are
+separated by blank lines, or if any of its constituent list items
+directly contain two block-level elements with a blank line between
+them.  Otherwise a list is [tight](#tight).  (The difference in HTML output
+is that paragraphs in a loose with are wrapped in `<p>` tags, while
+paragraphs in a tight list are not.)
+
+Changing the bullet or ordered list delimiter starts a new list:
+
+.
+- foo
+- bar
++ baz
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+1. foo
+2. bar
+3) baz
+.
+<ol>
+<li>foo</li>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ol>
+<ol start="3">
+<li>baz</li>
+</ol>
+.
+
+There can be blank lines between items, but two blank lines end
+a list:
+
+.
+- foo
+
+- bar
+
+
+- baz
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p></li>
+<li><p>bar</p></li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+As illustrated above in the section on [list items](#list-item),
+two blank lines between blocks *within* a list item will also end a
+list:
+
+.
+- foo
+
+
+  bar
+- baz
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+</ul>
+<p>bar</p>
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+Indeed, two blank lines will end *all* containing lists:
+
+.
+- foo
+  - bar
+    - baz
+
+
+      bim
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo
+<ul>
+<li>bar
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+<pre><code>  bim
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Thus, two blank lines can be used to separate consecutive lists of
+the same type, or to separate a list from an indented code block
+that would otherwise be parsed as a subparagraph of the final list
+item:
+
+.
+- foo
+- bar
+
+
+- baz
+- bim
+.
+<ul>
+<li>foo</li>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+<li>baz</li>
+<li>bim</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+-   foo
+
+    notcode
+
+-   foo
+
+
+    code
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<p>notcode</p></li>
+<li><p>foo</p></li>
+</ul>
+<pre><code>code
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+List items need not be indented to the same level.  The following
+list items will be treated as items at the same list level,
+since none is indented enough to belong to the previous list
+item:
+
+.
+- a
+ - b
+  - c
+   - d
+  - e
+ - f
+- g
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a</li>
+<li>b</li>
+<li>c</li>
+<li>d</li>
+<li>e</li>
+<li>f</li>
+<li>g</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+This is a loose list, because there is a blank line between
+two of the list items:
+
+.
+- a
+- b
+
+- c
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>a</p></li>
+<li><p>b</p></li>
+<li><p>c</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+So is this, with a empty second item:
+
+.
+* a
+*
+
+* c
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>a</p></li>
+<li></li>
+<li><p>c</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+These are loose lists, even though there is no space between the items,
+because one of the items directly contains two block-level elements
+with a blank line between them:
+
+.
+- a
+- b
+
+  c
+- d
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>a</p></li>
+<li><p>b</p>
+<p>c</p></li>
+<li><p>d</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+- a
+- b
+
+  [ref]: /url
+- d
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>a</p></li>
+<li><p>b</p></li>
+<li><p>d</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+This is a tight list, because the blank lines are in a code block:
+
+.
+- a
+- ```
+  b
+
+
+  ```
+- c
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a</li>
+<li><pre><code>b
+
+
+</code></pre></li>
+<li>c</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+This is a tight list, because the blank line is between two
+paragraphs of a sublist.  So the inner list is loose while
+the other list is tight:
+
+.
+- a
+  - b
+
+    c
+- d
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a
+<ul>
+<li><p>b</p>
+<p>c</p></li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>d</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+This is a tight list, because the blank line is inside the
+block quote:
+
+.
+* a
+  > b
+  >
+* c
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a
+<blockquote>
+<p>b</p>
+</blockquote></li>
+<li>c</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+This list is tight, because the consecutive block elements
+are not separated by blank lines:
+
+.
+- a
+  > b
+  ```
+  c
+  ```
+- d
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a
+<blockquote>
+<p>b</p>
+</blockquote>
+<pre><code>c
+</code></pre></li>
+<li>d</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+A single-paragraph list is tight:
+
+.
+- a
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a</li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+- a
+  - b
+.
+<ul>
+<li>a
+<ul>
+<li>b</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+Here the outer list is loose, the inner list tight:
+
+.
+* foo
+  * bar
+
+  baz
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>foo</p>
+<ul>
+<li>bar</li>
+</ul>
+<p>baz</p></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+.
+- a
+  - b
+  - c
+
+- d
+  - e
+  - f
+.
+<ul>
+<li><p>a</p>
+<ul>
+<li>b</li>
+<li>c</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><p>d</p>
+<ul>
+<li>e</li>
+<li>f</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+.
+
+# Inlines
+
+Inlines are parsed sequentially from the beginning of the character
+stream to the end (left to right, in left-to-right languages).
+Thus, for example, in
+
+.
+`hi`lo`
+.
+<p><code>hi</code>lo`</p>
+.
+
+`hi` is parsed as code, leaving the backtick at the end as a literal
+backtick.
+
+## Backslash escapes
+
+Any ASCII punctuation character may be backslash-escaped:
+
+.
+\!\"\#\$\%\&\'\(\)\*\+\,\-\.\/\:\;\<\=\>\?\@\[\\\]\^\_\`\{\|\}\~
+.
+<p>!&quot;#$%&amp;'()*+,-./:;&lt;=&gt;?@[\]^_`{|}~</p>
+.
+
+Backslashes before other characters are treated as literal
+backslashes:
+
+.
+\→\A\a\ \3\φ\«
+.
+<p>\   \A\a\ \3\φ\«</p>
+.
+
+Escaped characters are treated as regular characters and do
+not have their usual Markdown meanings:
+
+.
+\*not emphasized*
+\<br/> not a tag
+\[not a link](/foo)
+\`not code`
+1\. not a list
+\* not a list
+\# not a header
+\[foo]: /url "not a reference"
+.
+<p>*not emphasized*
+&lt;br/&gt; not a tag
+[not a link](/foo)
+`not code`
+1. not a list
+* not a list
+# not a header
+[foo]: /url &quot;not a reference&quot;</p>
+.
+
+If a backslash is itself escaped, the following character is not:
+
+.
+\\*emphasis*
+.
+<p>\<em>emphasis</em></p>
+.
+
+A backslash at the end of the line is a hard line break:
+
+.
+foo\
+bar
+.
+<p>foo<br />
+bar</p>
+.
+
+Backslash escapes do not work in code blocks, code spans, autolinks, or
+raw HTML:
+
+.
+`` \[\` ``
+.
+<p><code>\[\`</code></p>
+.
+
+.
+    \[\]
+.
+<pre><code>\[\]
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+~~~
+\[\]
+~~~
+.
+<pre><code>\[\]
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+.
+<http://example.com?find=\*>
+.
+<p><a href="http://example.com?find=%5C*">http://example.com?find=\*</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+<a href="/bar\/)">
+.
+<p><a href="/bar\/)"></p>
+.
+
+But they work in all other contexts, including URLs and link titles,
+link references, and info strings in [fenced code
+blocks](#fenced-code-block):
+
+.
+[foo](/bar\* "ti\*tle")
+.
+<p><a href="/bar*" title="ti*tle">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[foo]
+
+[foo]: /bar\* "ti\*tle"
+.
+<p><a href="/bar*" title="ti*tle">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+``` foo\+bar
+foo
+```
+.
+<pre><code class="language-foo+bar">foo
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+
+## Entities
+
+With the goal of making this standard as HTML-agnostic as possible, all
+valid HTML entities in any context are recognized as such and
+converted into unicode characters before they are stored in the AST.
+
+This allows implementations that target HTML output to trivially escape
+the entities when generating HTML, and simplifies the job of
+implementations targetting other languages, as these will only need to
+handle the unicode chars and need not be HTML-entity aware.
+
+[Named entities](#name-entities) <a id="named-entities"></a> consist of `&`
++ any of the valid HTML5 entity names + `;`. The
+[following document](http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/entities.json)
+is used as an authoritative source of the valid entity names and their
+corresponding codepoints.
+
+Conforming implementations that target HTML don't need to generate
+entities for all the valid named entities that exist, with the exception
+of `"` (`&quot;`), `&` (`&amp;`), `<` (`&lt;`) and `>` (`&gt;`), which
+always need to be written as entities for security reasons.
+
+.
+&nbsp; &amp; &copy; &AElig; &Dcaron; &frac34; &HilbertSpace; &DifferentialD; &ClockwiseContourIntegral;
+.
+<p>  &amp; © Æ Ď ¾ ℋ ⅆ ∲</p>
+.
+
+[Decimal entities](#decimal-entities) <a id="decimal-entities"></a>
+consist of `&#` + a string of 1--8 arabic digits + `;`. Again, these
+entities need to be recognised and tranformed into their corresponding
+UTF8 codepoints. Invalid Unicode codepoints will be written as the
+"unknown codepoint" character (`0xFFFD`)
+
+.
+&#35; &#1234; &#992; &#98765432;
+.
+<p># Ӓ Ϡ �</p>
+.
+
+[Hexadecimal entities](#hexadecimal-entities) <a id="hexadecimal-entities"></a>
+consist of `&#` + either `X` or `x` + a string of 1-8 hexadecimal digits
++ `;`. They will also be parsed and turned into their corresponding UTF8 values in the AST.
+
+.
+&#X22; &#XD06; &#xcab;
+.
+<p>&quot; ആ ಫ</p>
+.
+
+Here are some nonentities:
+
+.
+&nbsp &x; &#; &#x; &ThisIsWayTooLongToBeAnEntityIsntIt; &hi?;
+.
+<p>&amp;nbsp &amp;x; &amp;#; &amp;#x; &amp;ThisIsWayTooLongToBeAnEntityIsntIt; &amp;hi?;</p>
+.
+
+Although HTML5 does accept some entities without a trailing semicolon
+(such as `&copy`), these are not recognized as entities here, because it
+makes the grammar too ambiguous:
+
+.
+&copy
+.
+<p>&amp;copy</p>
+.
+
+Strings that are not on the list of HTML5 named entities are not
+recognized as entities either:
+
+.
+&MadeUpEntity;
+.
+<p>&amp;MadeUpEntity;</p>
+.
+
+Entities are recognized in any context besides code spans or
+code blocks, including raw HTML, URLs, [link titles](#link-title), and
+[fenced code block](#fenced-code-block) info strings:
+
+.
+<a href="&ouml;&ouml;.html">
+.
+<p><a href="&ouml;&ouml;.html"></p>
+.
+
+.
+[foo](/f&ouml;&ouml; "f&ouml;&ouml;")
+.
+<p><a href="/f%C3%B6%C3%B6" title="föö">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[foo]
+
+[foo]: /f&ouml;&ouml; "f&ouml;&ouml;"
+.
+<p><a href="/f%C3%B6%C3%B6" title="föö">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+``` f&ouml;&ouml;
+foo
+```
+.
+<pre><code class="language-föö">foo
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+Entities are treated as literal text in code spans and code blocks:
+
+.
+`f&ouml;&ouml;`
+.
+<p><code>f&amp;ouml;&amp;ouml;</code></p>
+.
+
+.
+    f&ouml;f&ouml;
+.
+<pre><code>f&amp;ouml;f&amp;ouml;
+</code></pre>
+.
+
+## Code span
+
+A [backtick string](#backtick-string) <a id="backtick-string"></a>
+is a string of one or more backtick characters (`` ` ``) that is neither
+preceded nor followed by a backtick.
+
+A code span begins with a backtick string and ends with a backtick
+string of equal length.  The contents of the code span are the
+characters between the two backtick strings, with leading and trailing
+spaces and newlines removed, and consecutive spaces and newlines
+collapsed to single spaces.
+
+This is a simple code span:
+
+.
+`foo`
+.
+<p><code>foo</code></p>
+.
+
+Here two backticks are used, because the code contains a backtick.
+This example also illustrates stripping of leading and trailing spaces:
+
+.
+`` foo ` bar  ``
+.
+<p><code>foo ` bar</code></p>
+.
+
+This example shows the motivation for stripping leading and trailing
+spaces:
+
+.
+` `` `
+.
+<p><code>``</code></p>
+.
+
+Newlines are treated like spaces:
+
+.
+``
+foo
+``
+.
+<p><code>foo</code></p>
+.
+
+Interior spaces and newlines are collapsed into single spaces, just
+as they would be by a browser:
+
+.
+`foo   bar
+  baz`
+.
+<p><code>foo bar baz</code></p>
+.
+
+Q: Why not just leave the spaces, since browsers will collapse them
+anyway?  A:  Because we might be targeting a non-HTML format, and we
+shouldn't rely on HTML-specific rendering assumptions.
+
+(Existing implementations differ in their treatment of internal
+spaces and newlines.  Some, including `Markdown.pl` and
+`showdown`, convert an internal newline into a `<br />` tag.
+But this makes things difficult for those who like to hard-wrap
+their paragraphs, since a line break in the midst of a code
+span will cause an unintended line break in the output.  Others
+just leave internal spaces as they are, which is fine if only
+HTML is being targeted.)
+
+.
+`foo `` bar`
+.
+<p><code>foo `` bar</code></p>
+.
+
+Note that backslash escapes do not work in code spans. All backslashes
+are treated literally:
+
+.
+`foo\`bar`
+.
+<p><code>foo\</code>bar`</p>
+.
+
+Backslash escapes are never needed, because one can always choose a
+string of *n* backtick characters as delimiters, where the code does
+not contain any strings of exactly *n* backtick characters.
+
+Code span backticks have higher precedence than any other inline
+constructs except HTML tags and autolinks.  Thus, for example, this is
+not parsed as emphasized text, since the second `*` is part of a code
+span:
+
+.
+*foo`*`
+.
+<p>*foo<code>*</code></p>
+.
+
+And this is not parsed as a link:
+
+.
+[not a `link](/foo`)
+.
+<p>[not a <code>link](/foo</code>)</p>
+.
+
+But this is a link:
+
+.
+<http://foo.bar.`baz>`
+.
+<p><a href="http://foo.bar.%60baz">http://foo.bar.`baz</a>`</p>
+.
+
+And this is an HTML tag:
+
+.
+<a href="`">`
+.
+<p><a href="`">`</p>
+.
+
+When a backtick string is not closed by a matching backtick string,
+we just have literal backticks:
+
+.
+```foo``
+.
+<p>```foo``</p>
+.
+
+.
+`foo
+.
+<p>`foo</p>
+.
+
+## Emphasis and strong emphasis
+
+John Gruber's original [Markdown syntax
+description](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax#em) says:
+
+> Markdown treats asterisks (`*`) and underscores (`_`) as indicators of
+> emphasis. Text wrapped with one `*` or `_` will be wrapped with an HTML
+> `<em>` tag; double `*`'s or `_`'s will be wrapped with an HTML `<strong>`
+> tag.
+
+This is enough for most users, but these rules leave much undecided,
+especially when it comes to nested emphasis.  The original
+`Markdown.pl` test suite makes it clear that triple `***` and
+`___` delimiters can be used for strong emphasis, and most
+implementations have also allowed the following patterns:
+
+``` markdown
+***strong emph***
+***strong** in emph*
+***emph* in strong**
+**in strong *emph***
+*in emph **strong***
+```
+
+The following patterns are less widely supported, but the intent
+is clear and they are useful (especially in contexts like bibliography
+entries):
+
+``` markdown
+*emph *with emph* in it*
+**strong **with strong** in it**
+```
+
+Many implementations have also restricted intraword emphasis to
+the `*` forms, to avoid unwanted emphasis in words containing
+internal underscores.  (It is best practice to put these in code
+spans, but users often do not.)
+
+``` markdown
+internal emphasis: foo*bar*baz
+no emphasis: foo_bar_baz
+```
+
+The following rules capture all of these patterns, while allowing
+for efficient parsing strategies that do not backtrack:
+
+1.  A single `*` character [can open emphasis](#can-open-emphasis)
+    <a id="can-open-emphasis"></a> iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `*`s,
+    (b) it is not followed by whitespace, and
+    (c) either it is not followed by a `*` character or it is
+        followed immediately by emphasis or strong emphasis.
+
+2.  A single `_` character [can open emphasis](#can-open-emphasis) iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `_`s,
+    (b) it is not followed by whitespace,
+    (c) it is not preceded by an ASCII alphanumeric character, and
+    (d) either it is not followed by a `_` character or it is
+        followed immediately by emphasis or strong emphasis.
+
+3.  A single `*` character [can close emphasis](#can-close-emphasis)
+    <a id="can-close-emphasis"></a> iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `*`s, and
+    (b) it is not preceded by whitespace.
+
+4.  A single `_` character [can close emphasis](#can-close-emphasis) iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `_`s,
+    (b) it is not preceded by whitespace, and
+    (c) it is not followed by an ASCII alphanumeric character.
+
+5.  A double `**` [can open strong emphasis](#can-open-strong-emphasis)
+    <a id="can-open-strong-emphasis" ></a> iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `*`s,
+    (b) it is not followed by whitespace, and
+    (c) either it is not followed by a `*` character or it is
+        followed immediately by emphasis.
+
+6.  A double `__` [can open strong emphasis](#can-open-strong-emphasis)
+    iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `_`s,
+    (b) it is not followed by whitespace, and
+    (c) it is not preceded by an ASCII alphanumeric character, and
+    (d) either it is not followed by a `_` character or it is
+        followed immediately by emphasis.
+
+7.  A double `**` [can close strong emphasis](#can-close-strong-emphasis)
+    <a id="can-close-strong-emphasis" ></a> iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `*`s, and
+    (b) it is not preceded by whitespace.
+
+8.  A double `__` [can close strong emphasis](#can-close-strong-emphasis)
+    iff
+
+    (a) it is not part of a sequence of four or more unescaped `_`s,
+    (b) it is not preceded by whitespace, and
+    (c) it is not followed by an ASCII alphanumeric character.
+
+9.  Emphasis begins with a delimiter that [can open
+    emphasis](#can-open-emphasis) and includes inlines parsed
+    sequentially until a delimiter that [can close
+    emphasis](#can-close-emphasis), and that uses the same
+    character (`_` or `*`) as the opening delimiter, is reached.
+
+10. Strong emphasis begins with a delimiter that [can open strong
+    emphasis](#can-open-strong-emphasis) and includes inlines parsed
+    sequentially until a delimiter that [can close strong
+    emphasis](#can-close-strong-emphasis), and that uses the
+    same character (`_` or `*`) as the opening delimiter, is reached.
+
+11. In case of ambiguity, strong emphasis takes precedence.  Thus,
+    `**foo**` is `<strong>foo</strong>`, not `<em><em>foo</em></em>`,
+    and `***foo***` is `<strong><em>foo</em></strong>`, not
+    `<em><strong>foo</strong></em>` or `<em><em><em>foo</em></em></em>`.
+
+These rules can be illustrated through a series of examples.
+
+Simple emphasis:
+
+.
+*foo bar*
+.
+<p><em>foo bar</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo bar_
+.
+<p><em>foo bar</em></p>
+.
+
+Simple strong emphasis:
+
+.
+**foo bar**
+.
+<p><strong>foo bar</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo bar__
+.
+<p><strong>foo bar</strong></p>
+.
+
+Emphasis can continue over line breaks:
+
+.
+*foo
+bar*
+.
+<p><em>foo
+bar</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo
+bar_
+.
+<p><em>foo
+bar</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo
+bar**
+.
+<p><strong>foo
+bar</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo
+bar__
+.
+<p><strong>foo
+bar</strong></p>
+.
+
+Emphasis can contain other inline constructs:
+
+.
+*foo [bar](/url)*
+.
+<p><em>foo <a href="/url">bar</a></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo [bar](/url)_
+.
+<p><em>foo <a href="/url">bar</a></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo [bar](/url)**
+.
+<p><strong>foo <a href="/url">bar</a></strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo [bar](/url)__
+.
+<p><strong>foo <a href="/url">bar</a></strong></p>
+.
+
+Symbols contained in other inline constructs will not
+close emphasis:
+
+.
+*foo [bar*](/url)
+.
+<p>*foo <a href="/url">bar*</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo [bar_](/url)
+.
+<p>_foo <a href="/url">bar_</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+**<a href="**">
+.
+<p>**<a href="**"></p>
+.
+
+.
+__<a href="__">
+.
+<p>__<a href="__"></p>
+.
+
+.
+*a `*`*
+.
+<p><em>a <code>*</code></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_a `_`_
+.
+<p><em>a <code>_</code></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**a<http://foo.bar?q=**>
+.
+<p>**a<a href="http://foo.bar?q=**">http://foo.bar?q=**</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+__a<http://foo.bar?q=__>
+.
+<p>__a<a href="http://foo.bar?q=__">http://foo.bar?q=__</a></p>
+.
+
+This is not emphasis, because the opening delimiter is
+followed by white space:
+
+.
+and * foo bar*
+.
+<p>and * foo bar*</p>
+.
+
+.
+_ foo bar_
+.
+<p>_ foo bar_</p>
+.
+
+.
+and ** foo bar**
+.
+<p>and ** foo bar**</p>
+.
+
+.
+__ foo bar__
+.
+<p>__ foo bar__</p>
+.
+
+This is not emphasis, because the closing delimiter is
+preceded by white space:
+
+.
+and *foo bar *
+.
+<p>and *foo bar *</p>
+.
+
+.
+and _foo bar _
+.
+<p>and _foo bar _</p>
+.
+
+.
+and **foo bar **
+.
+<p>and **foo bar **</p>
+.
+
+.
+and __foo bar __
+.
+<p>and __foo bar __</p>
+.
+
+The rules imply that a sequence of four or more unescaped `*` or
+`_` characters will always be parsed as a literal string:
+
+.
+****hi****
+.
+<p>****hi****</p>
+.
+
+.
+_____hi_____
+.
+<p>_____hi_____</p>
+.
+
+.
+Sign here: _________
+.
+<p>Sign here: _________</p>
+.
+
+The rules also imply that there can be no empty emphasis or strong
+emphasis:
+
+.
+** is not an empty emphasis
+.
+<p>** is not an empty emphasis</p>
+.
+
+.
+**** is not an empty strong emphasis
+.
+<p>**** is not an empty strong emphasis</p>
+.
+
+To include `*` or `_` in emphasized sections, use backslash escapes
+or code spans:
+
+.
+*here is a \**
+.
+<p><em>here is a *</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+__this is a double underscore (`__`)__
+.
+<p><strong>this is a double underscore (<code>__</code>)</strong></p>
+.
+
+Or use the other emphasis character:
+
+.
+*_*
+.
+<p><em>_</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_*_
+.
+<p><em>*</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+*__*
+.
+<p><em>__</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_**_
+.
+<p><em>**</em></p>
+.
+
+`*` delimiters allow intra-word emphasis; `_` delimiters do not:
+
+.
+foo*bar*baz
+.
+<p>foo<em>bar</em>baz</p>
+.
+
+.
+foo_bar_baz
+.
+<p>foo_bar_baz</p>
+.
+
+.
+foo__bar__baz
+.
+<p>foo__bar__baz</p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo_bar_baz_
+.
+<p><em>foo_bar_baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+11*15*32
+.
+<p>11<em>15</em>32</p>
+.
+
+.
+11_15_32
+.
+<p>11_15_32</p>
+.
+
+Internal underscores will be ignored in underscore-delimited
+emphasis:
+
+.
+_foo_bar_baz_
+.
+<p><em>foo_bar_baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo__bar__baz__
+.
+<p><strong>foo__bar__baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+The rules are sufficient for the following nesting patterns:
+
+.
+***foo bar***
+.
+<p><strong><em>foo bar</em></strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+___foo bar___
+.
+<p><strong><em>foo bar</em></strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo** bar*
+.
+<p><em><strong>foo</strong> bar</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+___foo__ bar_
+.
+<p><em><strong>foo</strong> bar</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo* bar**
+.
+<p><strong><em>foo</em> bar</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+___foo_ bar__
+.
+<p><strong><em>foo</em> bar</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo **bar***
+.
+<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo __bar___
+.
+<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo *bar***
+.
+<p><strong>foo <em>bar</em></strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo _bar___
+.
+<p><strong>foo <em>bar</em></strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo **bar***
+.
+<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo __bar___
+.
+<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo *bar* baz*
+.
+<p><em>foo <em>bar</em> baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo _bar_ baz_
+.
+<p><em>foo <em>bar</em> baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo **bar** baz**
+.
+<p><strong>foo <strong>bar</strong> baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo __bar__ baz__
+.
+<p><strong>foo <strong>bar</strong> baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo **bar** baz*
+.
+<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong> baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+_foo __bar__ baz_
+.
+<p><em>foo <strong>bar</strong> baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo *bar* baz**
+.
+<p><strong>foo <em>bar</em> baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo _bar_ baz__
+.
+<p><strong>foo <em>bar</em> baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo, *bar*, baz**
+.
+<p><strong>foo, <em>bar</em>, baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+__foo, _bar_, baz__
+.
+<p><strong>foo, <em>bar</em>, baz</strong></p>
+.
+
+But note:
+
+.
+*foo**bar**baz*
+.
+<p><em>foo</em><em>bar</em><em>baz</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo*bar*baz**
+.
+<p><em><em>foo</em>bar</em>baz**</p>
+.
+
+The difference is that in the two preceding cases,
+the internal delimiters [can close emphasis](#can-close-emphasis),
+while in the cases with spaces, they cannot.
+
+Note that you cannot nest emphasis directly inside emphasis
+using the same delimeter, or strong emphasis directly inside
+strong emphasis:
+
+.
+**foo**
+.
+<p><strong>foo</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+****foo****
+.
+<p>****foo****</p>
+.
+
+For these nestings, you need to switch delimiters:
+
+.
+*_foo_*
+.
+<p><em><em>foo</em></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**__foo__**
+.
+<p><strong><strong>foo</strong></strong></p>
+.
+
+Note that a `*` followed by a `*` can close emphasis, and
+a `**` followed by a `*` can close strong emphasis (and
+similarly for `_` and `__`):
+
+.
+*foo**
+.
+<p><em>foo</em>*</p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo *bar**
+.
+<p><em>foo <em>bar</em></em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**foo***
+.
+<p><strong>foo</strong>*</p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo* bar***
+.
+<p><strong><em>foo</em> bar</strong>*</p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo** bar***
+.
+<p><em><strong>foo</strong> bar</em>**</p>
+.
+
+The following contains no strong emphasis, because the opening
+delimiter is closed by the first `*` before `bar`:
+
+.
+*foo**bar***
+.
+<p><em>foo</em><em>bar</em>**</p>
+.
+
+However, a string of four or more `****` can never close emphasis:
+
+.
+*foo****
+.
+<p>*foo****</p>
+.
+
+We retain symmetry in these cases:
+
+.
+*foo**
+
+**foo*
+.
+<p><em>foo</em>*</p>
+<p>*<em>foo</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo *bar**
+
+**foo* bar*
+.
+<p><em>foo <em>bar</em></em></p>
+<p><em><em>foo</em> bar</em></p>
+.
+
+More cases with mismatched delimiters:
+
+.
+*bar***
+.
+<p><em>bar</em>**</p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo*
+.
+<p>**<em>foo</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+**bar***
+.
+<p><strong>bar</strong>*</p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo**
+.
+<p>*<strong>foo</strong></p>
+.
+
+.
+***foo *bar*
+.
+<p>***foo <em>bar</em></p>
+.
+
+## Links
+
+A link contains a [link label](#link-label) (the visible text),
+a [destination](#destination) (the URI that is the link destination),
+and optionally a [link title](#link-title).  There are two basic kinds
+of links in Markdown.  In [inline links](#inline-links) the destination
+and title are given immediately after the label.  In [reference
+links](#reference-links) the destination and title are defined elsewhere
+in the document.
+
+A [link label](#link-label) <a id="link-label"></a>  consists of
+
+- an opening `[`, followed by
+- zero or more backtick code spans, autolinks, HTML tags, link labels,
+  backslash-escaped ASCII punctuation characters, or non-`]` characters,
+  followed by
+- a closing `]`.
+
+These rules are motivated by the following intuitive ideas:
+
+- A link label is a container for inline elements.
+- The square brackets bind more tightly than emphasis markers,
+  but less tightly than `<>` or `` ` ``.
+- Link labels may contain material in matching square brackets.
+
+A [link destination](#link-destination) <a id="link-destination"></a>
+consists of either
+
+- a sequence of zero or more characters between an opening `<` and a
+  closing `>` that contains no line breaks or unescaped `<` or `>`
+  characters, or
+
+- a nonempty sequence of characters that does not include
+  ASCII space or control characters, and includes parentheses
+  only if (a) they are backslash-escaped or (b) they are part of
+  a balanced pair of unescaped parentheses that is not itself
+  inside a balanced pair of unescaped paretheses.
+
+A [link title](#link-title) <a id="link-title"></a>  consists of either
+
+- a sequence of zero or more characters between straight double-quote
+  characters (`"`), including a `"` character only if it is
+  backslash-escaped, or
+
+- a sequence of zero or more characters between straight single-quote
+  characters (`'`), including a `'` character only if it is
+  backslash-escaped, or
+
+- a sequence of zero or more characters between matching parentheses
+  (`(...)`), including a `)` character only if it is backslash-escaped.
+
+An [inline link](#inline-link) <a id="inline-link"></a>
+consists of a [link label](#link-label) followed immediately
+by a left parenthesis `(`, optional whitespace,
+an optional [link destination](#link-destination),
+an optional [link title](#link-title) separated from the link
+destination by whitespace, optional whitespace, and a right
+parenthesis `)`.  The link's text consists of the label (excluding
+the enclosing square brackets) parsed as inlines.  The link's
+URI consists of the link destination, excluding enclosing `<...>` if
+present, with backslash-escapes in effect as described above.  The
+link's title consists of the link title, excluding its enclosing
+delimiters, with backslash-escapes in effect as described above.
+
+Here is a simple inline link:
+
+.
+[link](/uri "title")
+.
+<p><a href="/uri" title="title">link</a></p>
+.
+
+The title may be omitted:
+
+.
+[link](/uri)
+.
+<p><a href="/uri">link</a></p>
+.
+
+Both the title and the destination may be omitted:
+
+.
+[link]()
+.
+<p><a href="">link</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[link](<>)
+.
+<p><a href="">link</a></p>
+.
+
+
+If the destination contains spaces, it must be enclosed in pointy
+braces:
+
+.
+[link](/my uri)
+.
+<p>[link](/my uri)</p>
+.
+
+.
+[link](</my uri>)
+.
+<p><a href="/my%20uri">link</a></p>
+.
+
+The destination cannot contain line breaks, even with pointy braces:
+
+.
+[link](foo
+bar)
+.
+<p>[link](foo
+bar)</p>
+.
+
+One level of balanced parentheses is allowed without escaping:
+
+.
+[link]((foo)and(bar))
+.
+<p><a href="(foo)and(bar)">link</a></p>
+.
+
+However, if you have parentheses within parentheses, you need to escape
+or use the `<...>` form:
+
+.
+[link](foo(and(bar)))
+.
+<p>[link](foo(and(bar)))</p>
+.
+
+.
+[link](foo(and\(bar\)))
+.
+<p><a href="foo(and(bar))">link</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[link](<foo(and(bar))>)
+.
+<p><a href="foo(and(bar))">link</a></p>
+.
+
+Parentheses and other symbols can also be escaped, as usual
+in Markdown:
+
+.
+[link](foo\)\:)
+.
+<p><a href="foo):">link</a></p>
+.
+
+URL-escaping should be left alone inside the destination, as all
+URL-escaped characters are also valid URL characters. HTML entities in
+the destination will be parsed into their UTF-8 codepoints, as usual, and
+optionally URL-escaped when written as HTML.
+
+.
+[link](foo%20b&auml;)
+.
+<p><a href="foo%20b%C3%A4">link</a></p>
+.
+
+Note that, because titles can often be parsed as destinations,
+if you try to omit the destination and keep the title, you'll
+get unexpected results:
+
+.
+[link]("title")
+.
+<p><a href="%22title%22">link</a></p>
+.
+
+Titles may be in single quotes, double quotes, or parentheses:
+
+.
+[link](/url "title")
+[link](/url 'title')
+[link](/url (title))
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">link</a>
+<a href="/url" title="title">link</a>
+<a href="/url" title="title">link</a></p>
+.
+
+Backslash escapes and entities may be used in titles:
+
+.
+[link](/url "title \"&quot;")
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title &quot;&quot;">link</a></p>
+.
+
+Nested balanced quotes are not allowed without escaping:
+
+.
+[link](/url "title "and" title")
+.
+<p>[link](/url &quot;title &quot;and&quot; title&quot;)</p>
+.
+
+But it is easy to work around this by using a different quote type:
+
+.
+[link](/url 'title "and" title')
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title &quot;and&quot; title">link</a></p>
+.
+
+(Note:  `Markdown.pl` did allow double quotes inside a double-quoted
+title, and its test suite included a test demonstrating this.
+But it is hard to see a good rationale for the extra complexity this
+brings, since there are already many ways---backslash escaping,
+entities, or using a different quote type for the enclosing title---to
+write titles containing double quotes.  `Markdown.pl`'s handling of
+titles has a number of other strange features.  For example, it allows
+single-quoted titles in inline links, but not reference links.  And, in
+reference links but not inline links, it allows a title to begin with
+`"` and end with `)`.  `Markdown.pl` 1.0.1 even allows titles with no closing
+quotation mark, though 1.0.2b8 does not.  It seems preferable to adopt
+a simple, rational rule that works the same way in inline links and
+link reference definitions.)
+
+Whitespace is allowed around the destination and title:
+
+.
+[link](   /uri
+  "title"  )
+.
+<p><a href="/uri" title="title">link</a></p>
+.
+
+But it is not allowed between the link label and the
+following parenthesis:
+
+.
+[link] (/uri)
+.
+<p>[link] (/uri)</p>
+.
+
+Note that this is not a link, because the closing `]` occurs in
+an HTML tag:
+
+.
+[foo <bar attr="](baz)">
+.
+<p>[foo <bar attr="](baz)"></p>
+.
+
+
+There are three kinds of [reference links](#reference-link):
+<a id="reference-link"></a>
+
+A [full reference link](#full-reference-link) <a id="full-reference-link"></a>
+consists of a [link label](#link-label), optional whitespace, and
+another [link label](#link-label) that [matches](#matches) a
+[link reference definition](#link-reference-definition) elsewhere in the
+document.
+
+One label [matches](#matches) <a id="matches"></a>
+another just in case their normalized forms are equal.  To normalize a
+label, perform the *unicode case fold* and collapse consecutive internal
+whitespace to a single space.  If there are multiple matching reference
+link definitions, the one that comes first in the document is used.  (It
+is desirable in such cases to emit a warning.)
+
+The contents of the first link label are parsed as inlines, which are
+used as the link's text.  The link's URI and title are provided by the
+matching [link reference definition](#link-reference-definition).
+
+Here is a simple example:
+
+.
+[foo][bar]
+
+[bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+The first label can contain inline content:
+
+.
+[*foo\!*][bar]
+
+[bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title"><em>foo!</em></a></p>
+.
+
+Matching is case-insensitive:
+
+.
+[foo][BaR]
+
+[bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+Unicode case fold is used:
+
+.
+[Толпой][Толпой] is a Russian word.
+
+[ТОЛПОЙ]: /url
+.
+<p><a href="/url">Толпой</a> is a Russian word.</p>
+.
+
+Consecutive internal whitespace is treated as one space for
+purposes of determining matching:
+
+.
+[Foo
+  bar]: /url
+
+[Baz][Foo bar]
+.
+<p><a href="/url">Baz</a></p>
+.
+
+There can be whitespace between the two labels:
+
+.
+[foo] [bar]
+
+[bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[foo]
+[bar]
+
+[bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+When there are multiple matching [link reference
+definitions](#link-reference-definition), the first is used:
+
+.
+[foo]: /url1
+
+[foo]: /url2
+
+[bar][foo]
+.
+<p><a href="/url1">bar</a></p>
+.
+
+Note that matching is performed on normalized strings, not parsed
+inline content.  So the following does not match, even though the
+labels define equivalent inline content:
+
+.
+[bar][foo\!]
+
+[foo!]: /url
+.
+<p>[bar][foo!]</p>
+.
+
+A [collapsed reference link](#collapsed-reference-link)
+<a id="collapsed-reference-link"></a> consists of a [link
+label](#link-label) that [matches](#matches) a [link reference
+definition](#link-reference-definition) elsewhere in the
+document, optional whitespace, and the string `[]`.  The contents of the
+first link label are parsed as inlines, which are used as the link's
+text.  The link's URI and title are provided by the matching reference
+link definition.  Thus, `[foo][]` is equivalent to `[foo][foo]`.
+
+.
+[foo][]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[*foo* bar][]
+
+[*foo* bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title"><em>foo</em> bar</a></p>
+.
+
+The link labels are case-insensitive:
+
+.
+[Foo][]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">Foo</a></p>
+.
+
+
+As with full reference links, whitespace is allowed
+between the two sets of brackets:
+
+.
+[foo] 
+[]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+A [shortcut reference link](#shortcut-reference-link)
+<a id="shortcut-reference-link"></a> consists of a [link
+label](#link-label) that [matches](#matches) a [link reference
+definition](#link-reference-definition)  elsewhere in the
+document and is not followed by `[]` or a link label.
+The contents of the first link label are parsed as inlines,
+which are used as the link's text.  the link's URI and title
+are provided by the matching link reference definition.
+Thus, `[foo]` is equivalent to `[foo][]`.
+
+.
+[foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[*foo* bar]
+
+[*foo* bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title"><em>foo</em> bar</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[[*foo* bar]]
+
+[*foo* bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p>[<a href="/url" title="title"><em>foo</em> bar</a>]</p>
+.
+
+The link labels are case-insensitive:
+
+.
+[Foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><a href="/url" title="title">Foo</a></p>
+.
+
+If you just want bracketed text, you can backslash-escape the
+opening bracket to avoid links:
+
+.
+\[foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p>[foo]</p>
+.
+
+Note that this is a link, because link labels bind more tightly
+than emphasis:
+
+.
+[foo*]: /url
+
+*[foo*]
+.
+<p>*<a href="/url">foo*</a></p>
+.
+
+However, this is not, because link labels bind less
+tightly than code backticks:
+
+.
+[foo`]: /url
+
+[foo`]`
+.
+<p>[foo<code>]</code></p>
+.
+
+Link labels can contain matched square brackets:
+
+.
+[[[foo]]]
+
+[[[foo]]]: /url
+.
+<p><a href="/url">[[foo]]</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+[[[foo]]]
+
+[[[foo]]]: /url1
+[foo]: /url2
+.
+<p><a href="/url1">[[foo]]</a></p>
+.
+
+For non-matching brackets, use backslash escapes:
+
+.
+[\[foo]
+
+[\[foo]: /url
+.
+<p><a href="/url">[foo</a></p>
+.
+
+Full references take precedence over shortcut references:
+
+.
+[foo][bar]
+
+[foo]: /url1
+[bar]: /url2
+.
+<p><a href="/url2">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+In the following case `[bar][baz]` is parsed as a reference,
+`[foo]` as normal text:
+
+.
+[foo][bar][baz]
+
+[baz]: /url
+.
+<p>[foo]<a href="/url">bar</a></p>
+.
+
+Here, though, `[foo][bar]` is parsed as a reference, since
+`[bar]` is defined:
+
+.
+[foo][bar][baz]
+
+[baz]: /url1
+[bar]: /url2
+.
+<p><a href="/url2">foo</a><a href="/url1">baz</a></p>
+.
+
+Here `[foo]` is not parsed as a shortcut reference, because it
+is followed by a link label (even though `[bar]` is not defined):
+
+.
+[foo][bar][baz]
+
+[baz]: /url1
+[foo]: /url2
+.
+<p>[foo]<a href="/url1">bar</a></p>
+.
+
+
+## Images
+
+An (unescaped) exclamation mark (`!`) followed by a reference or
+inline link will be parsed as an image.  The link label will be
+used as the image's alt text, and the link title, if any, will
+be used as the image's title.
+
+.
+![foo](/url "title")
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="foo" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![foo *bar*]
+
+[foo *bar*]: train.jpg "train & tracks"
+.
+<p><img src="train.jpg" alt="foo &lt;em&gt;bar&lt;/em&gt;" title="train &amp; tracks" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![foo *bar*][]
+
+[foo *bar*]: train.jpg "train & tracks"
+.
+<p><img src="train.jpg" alt="foo &lt;em&gt;bar&lt;/em&gt;" title="train &amp; tracks" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![foo *bar*][foobar]
+
+[FOOBAR]: train.jpg "train & tracks"
+.
+<p><img src="train.jpg" alt="foo &lt;em&gt;bar&lt;/em&gt;" title="train &amp; tracks" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![foo](train.jpg)
+.
+<p><img src="train.jpg" alt="foo" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+My ![foo bar](/path/to/train.jpg  "title"   )
+.
+<p>My <img src="/path/to/train.jpg" alt="foo bar" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![foo](<url>)
+.
+<p><img src="url" alt="foo" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![](/url)
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="" /></p>
+.
+
+Reference-style:
+
+.
+![foo] [bar]
+
+[bar]: /url
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="foo" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![foo] [bar]
+
+[BAR]: /url
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="foo" /></p>
+.
+
+Collapsed:
+
+.
+![foo][]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="foo" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![*foo* bar][]
+
+[*foo* bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="&lt;em&gt;foo&lt;/em&gt; bar" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+The labels are case-insensitive:
+
+.
+![Foo][]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="Foo" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+As with full reference links, whitespace is allowed
+between the two sets of brackets:
+
+.
+![foo] 
+[]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="foo" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+Shortcut:
+
+.
+![foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="foo" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![*foo* bar]
+
+[*foo* bar]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="&lt;em&gt;foo&lt;/em&gt; bar" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+.
+![[foo]]
+
+[[foo]]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="[foo]" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+The link labels are case-insensitive:
+
+.
+![Foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p><img src="/url" alt="Foo" title="title" /></p>
+.
+
+If you just want bracketed text, you can backslash-escape the
+opening `!` and `[`:
+
+.
+\!\[foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p>![foo]</p>
+.
+
+If you want a link after a literal `!`, backslash-escape the
+`!`:
+
+.
+\![foo]
+
+[foo]: /url "title"
+.
+<p>!<a href="/url" title="title">foo</a></p>
+.
+
+## Autolinks
+
+Autolinks are absolute URIs and email addresses inside `<` and `>`.
+They are parsed as links, with the URL or email address as the link
+label.
+
+A [URI autolink](#uri-autolink) <a id="uri-autolink"></a>
+consists of `<`, followed by an [absolute
+URI](#absolute-uri) not containing `<`, followed by `>`.  It is parsed
+as a link to the URI, with the URI as the link's label.
+
+An [absolute URI](#absolute-uri), <a id="absolute-uri"></a>
+for these purposes, consists of a [scheme](#scheme) followed by a colon (`:`)
+followed by zero or more characters other than ASCII whitespace and
+control characters, `<`, and `>`.  If the URI includes these characters,
+you must use percent-encoding (e.g. `%20` for a space).
+
+The following [schemes](#scheme) <a id="scheme"></a>
+are recognized (case-insensitive):
+`coap`, `doi`, `javascript`, `aaa`, `aaas`, `about`, `acap`, `cap`,
+`cid`, `crid`, `data`, `dav`, `dict`, `dns`, `file`, `ftp`, `geo`, `go`,
+`gopher`, `h323`, `http`, `https`, `iax`, `icap`, `im`, `imap`, `info`,
+`ipp`, `iris`, `iris.beep`, `iris.xpc`, `iris.xpcs`, `iris.lwz`, `ldap`,
+`mailto`, `mid`, `msrp`, `msrps`, `mtqp`, `mupdate`, `news`, `nfs`,
+`ni`, `nih`, `nntp`, `opaquelocktoken`, `pop`, `pres`, `rtsp`,
+`service`, `session`, `shttp`, `sieve`, `sip`, `sips`, `sms`, `snmp`,`
+soap.beep`, `soap.beeps`, `tag`, `tel`, `telnet`, `tftp`, `thismessage`,
+`tn3270`, `tip`, `tv`, `urn`, `vemmi`, `ws`, `wss`, `xcon`,
+`xcon-userid`, `xmlrpc.beep`, `xmlrpc.beeps`, `xmpp`, `z39.50r`,
+`z39.50s`, `adiumxtra`, `afp`, `afs`, `aim`, `apt`,` attachment`, `aw`,
+`beshare`, `bitcoin`, `bolo`, `callto`, `chrome`,` chrome-extension`,
+`com-eventbrite-attendee`, `content`, `cvs`,` dlna-playsingle`,
+`dlna-playcontainer`, `dtn`, `dvb`, `ed2k`, `facetime`, `feed`,
+`finger`, `fish`, `gg`, `git`, `gizmoproject`, `gtalk`, `hcp`, `icon`,
+`ipn`, `irc`, `irc6`, `ircs`, `itms`, `jar`, `jms`, `keyparc`, `lastfm`,
+`ldaps`, `magnet`, `maps`, `market`,` message`, `mms`, `ms-help`,
+`msnim`, `mumble`, `mvn`, `notes`, `oid`, `palm`, `paparazzi`,
+`platform`, `proxy`, `psyc`, `query`, `res`, `resource`, `rmi`, `rsync`,
+`rtmp`, `secondlife`, `sftp`, `sgn`, `skype`, `smb`, `soldat`,
+`spotify`, `ssh`, `steam`, `svn`, `teamspeak`, `things`, `udp`,
+`unreal`, `ut2004`, `ventrilo`, `view-source`, `webcal`, `wtai`,
+`wyciwyg`, `xfire`, `xri`, `ymsgr`.
+
+Here are some valid autolinks:
+
+.
+<http://foo.bar.baz>
+.
+<p><a href="http://foo.bar.baz">http://foo.bar.baz</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+<http://foo.bar.baz?q=hello&id=22&boolean>
+.
+<p><a href="http://foo.bar.baz?q=hello&amp;id=22&amp;boolean">http://foo.bar.baz?q=hello&amp;id=22&amp;boolean</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+<irc://foo.bar:2233/baz>
+.
+<p><a href="irc://foo.bar:2233/baz">irc://foo.bar:2233/baz</a></p>
+.
+
+Uppercase is also fine:
+
+.
+<MAILTO:FOO@BAR.BAZ>
+.
+<p><a href="MAILTO:FOO@BAR.BAZ">MAILTO:FOO@BAR.BAZ</a></p>
+.
+
+Spaces are not allowed in autolinks:
+
+.
+<http://foo.bar/baz bim>
+.
+<p>&lt;http://foo.bar/baz bim&gt;</p>
+.
+
+An [email autolink](#email-autolink) <a id="email-autolink"></a>
+consists of `<`, followed by an [email address](#email-address),
+followed by `>`.  The link's label is the email address,
+and the URL is `mailto:` followed by the email address.
+
+An [email address](#email-address), <a id="email-address"></a>
+for these purposes, is anything that matches
+the [non-normative regex from the HTML5
+spec](http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/forms.html#e-mail-state-%28type=email%29):
+
+    /^[a-zA-Z0-9.!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?
+    (?:\.[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?)*$/
+
+Examples of email autolinks:
+
+.
+<foo@bar.example.com>
+.
+<p><a href="mailto:foo@bar.example.com">foo@bar.example.com</a></p>
+.
+
+.
+<foo+special@Bar.baz-bar0.com>
+.
+<p><a href="mailto:foo+special@Bar.baz-bar0.com">foo+special@Bar.baz-bar0.com</a></p>
+.
+
+These are not autolinks:
+
+.
+<>
+.
+<p>&lt;&gt;</p>
+.
+
+.
+<heck://bing.bong>
+.
+<p>&lt;heck://bing.bong&gt;</p>
+.
+
+.
+< http://foo.bar >
+.
+<p>&lt; http://foo.bar &gt;</p>
+.
+
+.
+<foo.bar.baz>
+.
+<p>&lt;foo.bar.baz&gt;</p>
+.
+
+.
+<localhost:5001/foo>
+.
+<p>&lt;localhost:5001/foo&gt;</p>
+.
+
+.
+http://example.com
+.
+<p>http://example.com</p>
+.
+
+.
+foo@bar.example.com
+.
+<p>foo@bar.example.com</p>
+.
+
+## Raw HTML
+
+Text between `<` and `>` that looks like an HTML tag is parsed as a
+raw HTML tag and will be rendered in HTML without escaping.
+Tag and attribute names are not limited to current HTML tags,
+so custom tags (and even, say, DocBook tags) may be used.
+
+Here is the grammar for tags:
+
+A [tag name](#tag-name) <a id="tag-name"></a> consists of an ASCII letter
+followed by zero or more ASCII letters or digits.
+
+An [attribute](#attribute) <a id="attribute"></a> consists of whitespace,
+an **attribute name**, and an optional **attribute value
+specification**.
+
+An [attribute name](#attribute-name) <a id="attribute-name"></a>
+consists of an ASCII letter, `_`, or `:`, followed by zero or more ASCII
+letters, digits, `_`, `.`, `:`, or `-`.  (Note:  This is the XML
+specification restricted to ASCII.  HTML5 is laxer.)
+
+An [attribute value specification](#attribute-value-specification)
+<a id="attribute-value-specification"></a> consists of optional whitespace,
+a `=` character, optional whitespace, and an [attribute
+value](#attribute-value).
+
+An [attribute value](#attribute-value) <a id="attribute-value"></a>
+consists of an [unquoted attribute value](#unquoted-attribute-value),
+a [single-quoted attribute value](#single-quoted-attribute-value),
+or a [double-quoted attribute value](#double-quoted-attribute-value).
+
+An [unquoted attribute value](#unquoted-attribute-value)
+<a id="unquoted-attribute-value"></a> is a nonempty string of characters not
+including spaces, `"`, `'`, `=`, `<`, `>`, or `` ` ``.
+
+A [single-quoted attribute value](#single-quoted-attribute-value)
+<a id="single-quoted-attribute-value"></a> consists of `'`, zero or more
+characters not including `'`, and a final `'`.
+
+A [double-quoted attribute value](#double-quoted-attribute-value)
+<a id="double-quoted-attribute-value"></a> consists of `"`, zero or more
+characters not including `"`, and a final `"`.
+
+An [open tag](#open-tag) <a id="open-tag"></a> consists of a `<` character,
+a [tag name](#tag-name), zero or more [attributes](#attribute),
+optional whitespace, an optional `/` character, and a `>` character.
+
+A [closing tag](#closing-tag) <a id="closing-tag"></a> consists of the
+string `</`, a [tag name](#tag-name), optional whitespace, and the
+character `>`.
+
+An [HTML comment](#html-comment) <a id="html-comment"></a> consists of the
+string `<!--`, a string of characters not including the string `--`, and
+the string `-->`.
+
+A [processing instruction](#processing-instruction)
+<a id="processing-instruction"></a> consists of the string `<?`, a string
+of characters not including the string `?>`, and the string
+`?>`.
+
+A [declaration](#declaration) <a id="declaration"></a> consists of the
+string `<!`, a name consisting of one or more uppercase ASCII letters,
+whitespace, a string of characters not including the character `>`, and
+the character `>`.
+
+A [CDATA section](#cdata-section) <a id="cdata-section"></a> consists of
+the string `<![CDATA[`, a string of characters not including the string
+`]]>`, and the string `]]>`.
+
+An [HTML tag](#html-tag) <a id="html-tag"></a> consists of an [open
+tag](#open-tag), a [closing tag](#closing-tag), an [HTML
+comment](#html-comment), a [processing
+instruction](#processing-instruction), an [element type
+declaration](#element-type-declaration), or a [CDATA
+section](#cdata-section).
+
+Here are some simple open tags:
+
+.
+<a><bab><c2c>
+.
+<p><a><bab><c2c></p>
+.
+
+Empty elements:
+
+.
+<a/><b2/>
+.
+<p><a/><b2/></p>
+.
+
+Whitespace is allowed:
+
+.
+<a  /><b2
+data="foo" >
+.
+<p><a  /><b2
+data="foo" ></p>
+.
+
+With attributes:
+
+.
+<a foo="bar" bam = 'baz <em>"</em>'
+_boolean zoop:33=zoop:33 />
+.
+<p><a foo="bar" bam = 'baz <em>"</em>'
+_boolean zoop:33=zoop:33 /></p>
+.
+
+Illegal tag names, not parsed as HTML:
+
+.
+<33> <__>
+.
+<p>&lt;33&gt; &lt;__&gt;</p>
+.
+
+Illegal attribute names:
+
+.
+<a h*#ref="hi">
+.
+<p>&lt;a h*#ref=&quot;hi&quot;&gt;</p>
+.
+
+Illegal attribute values:
+
+.
+<a href="hi'> <a href=hi'>
+.
+<p>&lt;a href=&quot;hi'&gt; &lt;a href=hi'&gt;</p>
+.
+
+Illegal whitespace:
+
+.
+< a><
+foo><bar/ >
+.
+<p>&lt; a&gt;&lt;
+foo&gt;&lt;bar/ &gt;</p>
+.
+
+Missing whitespace:
+
+.
+<a href='bar'title=title>
+.
+<p>&lt;a href='bar'title=title&gt;</p>
+.
+
+Closing tags:
+
+.
+</a>
+</foo >
+.
+<p></a>
+</foo ></p>
+.
+
+Illegal attributes in closing tag:
+
+.
+</a href="foo">
+.
+<p>&lt;/a href=&quot;foo&quot;&gt;</p>
+.
+
+Comments:
+
+.
+foo <!-- this is a
+comment - with hyphen -->
+.
+<p>foo <!-- this is a
+comment - with hyphen --></p>
+.
+
+.
+foo <!-- not a comment -- two hyphens -->
+.
+<p>foo &lt;!-- not a comment -- two hyphens --&gt;</p>
+.
+
+Processing instructions:
+
+.
+foo <?php echo $a; ?>
+.
+<p>foo <?php echo $a; ?></p>
+.
+
+Declarations:
+
+.
+foo <!ELEMENT br EMPTY>
+.
+<p>foo <!ELEMENT br EMPTY></p>
+.
+
+CDATA sections:
+
+.
+foo <![CDATA[>&<]]>
+.
+<p>foo <![CDATA[>&<]]></p>
+.
+
+Entities are preserved in HTML attributes:
+
+.
+<a href="&ouml;">
+.
+<p><a href="&ouml;"></p>
+.
+
+Backslash escapes do not work in HTML attributes:
+
+.
+<a href="\*">
+.
+<p><a href="\*"></p>
+.
+
+.
+<a href="\"">
+.
+<p>&lt;a href=&quot;&quot;&quot;&gt;</p>
+.
+
+## Hard line breaks
+
+A line break (not in a code span or HTML tag) that is preceded
+by two or more spaces is parsed as a linebreak (rendered
+in HTML as a `<br />` tag):
+
+.
+foo  
+baz
+.
+<p>foo<br />
+baz</p>
+.
+
+For a more visible alternative, a backslash before the newline may be
+used instead of two spaces:
+
+.
+foo\
+baz
+.
+<p>foo<br />
+baz</p>
+.
+
+More than two spaces can be used:
+
+.
+foo       
+baz
+.
+<p>foo<br />
+baz</p>
+.
+
+Leading spaces at the beginning of the next line are ignored:
+
+.
+foo  
+     bar
+.
+<p>foo<br />
+bar</p>
+.
+
+.
+foo\
+     bar
+.
+<p>foo<br />
+bar</p>
+.
+
+Line breaks can occur inside emphasis, links, and other constructs
+that allow inline content:
+
+.
+*foo  
+bar*
+.
+<p><em>foo<br />
+bar</em></p>
+.
+
+.
+*foo\
+bar*
+.
+<p><em>foo<br />
+bar</em></p>
+.
+
+Line breaks do not occur inside code spans
+
+.
+`code  
+span`
+.
+<p><code>code span</code></p>
+.
+
+.
+`code\
+span`
+.
+<p><code>code\ span</code></p>
+.
+
+or HTML tags:
+
+.
+<a href="foo  
+bar">
+.
+<p><a href="foo  
+bar"></p>
+.
+
+.
+<a href="foo\
+bar">
+.
+<p><a href="foo\
+bar"></p>
+.
+
+## Soft line breaks
+
+A regular line break (not in a code span or HTML tag) that is not
+preceded by two or more spaces is parsed as a softbreak.  (A
+softbreak may be rendered in HTML either as a newline or as a space.
+The result will be the same in browsers. In the examples here, a
+newline will be used.)
+
+.
+foo
+baz
+.
+<p>foo
+baz</p>
+.
+
+Spaces at the end of the line and beginning of the next line are
+removed:
+
+.
+foo 
+ baz
+.
+<p>foo
+baz</p>
+.
+
+A conforming parser may render a soft line break in HTML either as a
+line break or as a space.
+
+A renderer may also provide an option to render soft line breaks
+as hard line breaks.
+
+## Strings
+
+Any characters not given an interpretation by the above rules will
+be parsed as string content.
+
+.
+hello $.;'there
+.
+<p>hello $.;'there</p>
+.
+
+.
+Foo χρῆν
+.
+<p>Foo χρῆν</p>
+.
+
+Internal spaces are preserved verbatim:
+
+.
+Multiple     spaces
+.
+<p>Multiple     spaces</p>
+.
+
+<!-- END TESTS -->
+
+# Appendix A: A parsing strategy {-}
+
+## Overview {-}
+
+Parsing has two phases:
+
+1. In the first phase, lines of input are consumed and the block
+structure of the document---its division into paragraphs, block quotes,
+list items, and so on---is constructed.  Text is assigned to these
+blocks but not parsed. Link reference definitions are parsed and a
+map of links is constructed.
+
+2. In the second phase, the raw text contents of paragraphs and headers
+are parsed into sequences of Markdown inline elements (strings,
+code spans, links, emphasis, and so on), using the map of link
+references constructed in phase 1.
+
+## The document tree {-}
+
+At each point in processing, the document is represented as a tree of
+**blocks**.  The root of the tree is a `document` block.  The `document`
+may have any number of other blocks as **children**.  These children
+may, in turn, have other blocks as children.  The last child of a block
+is normally considered **open**, meaning that subsequent lines of input
+can alter its contents.  (Blocks that are not open are **closed**.)
+Here, for example, is a possible document tree, with the open blocks
+marked by arrows:
+
+``` tree
+-> document
+  -> block_quote
+       paragraph
+         "Lorem ipsum dolor\nsit amet."
+    -> list (type=bullet tight=true bullet_char=-)
+         list_item
+           paragraph
+             "Qui *quodsi iracundia*"
+      -> list_item
+        -> paragraph
+             "aliquando id"
+```
+
+## How source lines alter the document tree {-}
+
+Each line that is processed has an effect on this tree.  The line is
+analyzed and, depending on its contents, the document may be altered
+in one or more of the following ways:
+
+1. One or more open blocks may be closed.
+2. One or more new blocks may be created as children of the
+   last open block.
+3. Text may be added to the last (deepest) open block remaining
+   on the tree.
+
+Once a line has been incorporated into the tree in this way,
+it can be discarded, so input can be read in a stream.
+
+We can see how this works by considering how the tree above is
+generated by four lines of Markdown:
+
+``` markdown
+> Lorem ipsum dolor
+sit amet.
+> - Qui *quodsi iracundia*
+> - aliquando id
+```
+
+At the outset, our document model is just
+
+``` tree
+-> document
+```
+
+The first line of our text,
+
+``` markdown
+> Lorem ipsum dolor
+```
+
+causes a `block_quote` block to be created as a child of our
+open `document` block, and a `paragraph` block as a child of
+the `block_quote`.  Then the text is added to the last open
+block, the `paragraph`:
+
+``` tree
+-> document
+  -> block_quote
+    -> paragraph
+         "Lorem ipsum dolor"
+```
+
+The next line,
+
+``` markdown
+sit amet.
+```
+
+is a "lazy continuation" of the open `paragraph`, so it gets added
+to the paragraph's text:
+
+``` tree
+-> document
+  -> block_quote
+    -> paragraph
+         "Lorem ipsum dolor\nsit amet."
+```
+
+The third line,
+
+``` markdown
+> - Qui *quodsi iracundia*
+```
+
+causes the `paragraph` block to be closed, and a new `list` block
+opened as a child of the `block_quote`.  A `list_item` is also
+added as a child of the `list`, and a `paragraph` as a child of
+the `list_item`.  The text is then added to the new `paragraph`:
+
+``` tree
+-> document
+  -> block_quote
+       paragraph
+         "Lorem ipsum dolor\nsit amet."
+    -> list (type=bullet tight=true bullet_char=-)
+      -> list_item
+        -> paragraph
+             "Qui *quodsi iracundia*"
+```
+
+The fourth line,
+
+``` markdown
+> - aliquando id
+```
+
+causes the `list_item` (and its child the `paragraph`) to be closed,
+and a new `list_item` opened up as child of the `list`.  A `paragraph`
+is added as a child of the new `list_item`, to contain the text.
+We thus obtain the final tree:
+
+``` tree
+-> document
+  -> block_quote
+       paragraph
+         "Lorem ipsum dolor\nsit amet."
+    -> list (type=bullet tight=true bullet_char=-)
+         list_item
+           paragraph
+             "Qui *quodsi iracundia*"
+      -> list_item
+        -> paragraph
+             "aliquando id"
+```
+
+## From block structure to the final document {-}
+
+Once all of the input has been parsed, all open blocks are closed.
+
+We then "walk the tree," visiting every node, and parse raw
+string contents of paragraphs and headers as inlines.  At this
+point we have seen all the link reference definitions, so we can
+resolve reference links as we go.
+
+``` tree
+document
+  block_quote
+    paragraph
+      str "Lorem ipsum dolor"
+      softbreak
+      str "sit amet."
+    list (type=bullet tight=true bullet_char=-)
+      list_item
+        paragraph
+          str "Qui "
+          emph
+            str "quodsi iracundia"
+      list_item
+        paragraph
+          str "aliquando id"
+```
+
+Notice how the newline in the first paragraph has been parsed as
+a `softbreak`, and the asterisks in the first list item have become
+an `emph`.
+
+The document can be rendered as HTML, or in any other format, given
+an appropriate renderer.
+
+