Parsedown
Languages and libraries
markdown parser library
SHOW HN2014
88points
37comments
#327of 2,272 in 2014
Top 15%of 2014 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
5 positive, 5 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 6 critical, out of 16 comments about the project. Thread score -0.03.
Performance: 5 for, 2 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Very fast; speed is its main selling point.
From 2 comments
I've worked with several markdown implementations and parsedown is my current choice due to my main constraint - speed. Great work and thanks for sharing.
zaf on HNLooks great, happy to see the Markdown Extra extension. With regard to performance, I've always gotten around the slowness of the original Markdown parser by making liberal use…
alphadevx on HN
Good choice for performance-sensitive Markdown rendering.
From 1 comment
I've worked with several markdown implementations and parsedown is my current choice due to my main constraint - speed. Great work and thanks for sharing.
zaf on HN
Objections
Not truly extensible; extending requires subclassing the main class.
From 2 comments
Parsedown is certainly very fast, but I wouldn't call it "extensible". CeBe's markdown parser is nearly as fast, but focusses on being very easy to extend, so it's trivial to add…
phpnode on HNIt is possible to extend, but extensible requires more. In this case, ParsedownExtra looks to directly extend the Parsedown class. This is fine for a single extension, but it…
lacksconfidence on HN
Uses regex, which some consider the wrong approach for parsing.
From 2 comments
I remember seeing this on /r/PHP, and one of the top comments there was about it using Regex instead of parsing it like a language. However, I also recall that it's thanks to…
Navarr on HNPerhaps I am looking at this wrong, but I don't see why you would use a Markdown parser written in PHP if you're looking for speed. Case in point the parsedown system is fast…
tshadwell on HN
Output needs sanitizing to avoid XSS from raw HTML.
From 2 comments
It's important to remember that most markdown implementations (including his one) cannot be used to provide a safe mechanism for authoring user generated content without opening…
simonw on HNEasily solved by proper use of HTMLPurifier on the output.
McGlockenshire on HN
Possible edge-case parsing differences with list and HTML blocks.
From 2 comments
Different markdown editors seem to be in disagreement how to parse the following: https://gist.github.com/anonymous/810ae1f7d52bcfffa1ef If the second empty line marks the end of…
brute on HNYeah it looks like my site fails at this - http://markdownshare.com/view/96996ce5-63bc-45ca-af49-ba18cb53ace1
stevekemp on HN
Requests
Support for multiple independent extensions.
From 1 comment
It is possible to extend, but extensible requires more. In this case, ParsedownExtra looks to directly extend the Parsedown class. This is fine for a single extension, but it…
lacksconfidence on HN
Questions
Is it faster than C-based PHP extensions like Sundown?
From 2 comments
If speed is your top priority you may also want to look at Sundown, which can be installed as a PHP extension and is likely faster since it's just C.…
debaserab2 on HNPerhaps I am looking at this wrong, but I don't see why you would use a Markdown parser written in PHP if you're looking for speed. Case in point the parsedown system is fast…
tshadwell on HN
Alternatives named
Parsedown Extra
From 1 comment
> Parsedown is certainly very fast, but I wouldn't call it "extensible". Parsedown is extensible and it already has been extended. There's a well working extension of Parsedown…
seer on HN
cebe/markdown
From 1 comment
Parsedown is certainly very fast, but I wouldn't call it "extensible". CeBe's markdown parser is nearly as fast, but focusses on being very easy to extend, so it's trivial to add…
phpnode on HN
Sundown (php-sundown)
From 1 comment
If speed is your top priority you may also want to look at Sundown, which can be installed as a PHP extension and is likely faster since it's just C.…
debaserab2 on HN
Mistune
From 1 comment
> That said, has there ever really been an issue with speed as it pertains to markdown translation? Yes, speed of translation is a big deal. I tried at least 4 Markdown parsers…
chrismonsanto on HN
marked
From 1 comment
We started with a server side Markdown parser, but switch to a JavaScript parser (https://github.com/chjj/marked). Really there is no reason to do this work on the server.
nodesocket on HN
Strictdown
From 1 comment
Agreed. Most new Markdown parsers for higher speed have different edge cases, including the famous marked. If you don't mind the frustrating syntax tree, you can try Strictdown…
NaNaN on HN