This section is a tribute to the power of structured plaintext. From Markdown to Typst, we explore the tools that separate content from presentation, ensuring our documents remain accessible, portable, and eternal.
Using Typst’s ‘import’ and ‘show’ rules to create a unified look for your entire book project.
Why we use H1, H2, and H3 for logic, not for font size. A lesson in accessible architecture.
How metadata turns a simple text file into a powerful database entry. Mastering YAML and TOML.
What to look for when you open a new .md, .typ, or .html file for the first time.
Why one language isn’t enough. Choosing between Markdown, Typst, and HTML based on the task at hand.
Why we abandoned the ‘Office Suite’ to return to the logic of the word. A call to arms for clean, beautiful, and permanent documents.
Why hunting for symbols in MS Word is a waste of a researcher’s mind. Discover the fluid power of Typst and AsciiMath.
If Markdown is a pocketknife, Quarto is a full-scale machine shop. Built on top of Pandoc, it allows us to weave together prose, code, and citations into a single source of truth. Why Quarto Wins For the Textsmith, Quarto solves the “Final Format” problem. You write in a single .qmd file and strike the anvil to produce: A high-fidelity PDF via Typst or LaTeX. A responsive HTML ebook. A professional RevealJS presentation for your next conference. The Logic of the Source Because Quarto is plaintext, we can use our Trinity (grep, sed, awk) to audit our citations or bulk-edit our data before we ever “render” the final product. ...
In the Unix world, we love a good fight. We’ve fought over editors (Vim vs. Emacs), we’ve fought over distros (Systemd vs. Init), and now, we fight over how to write a simple list. Markdown: The People’s Hammer Markdown won the popularity contest for a reason: it is the “Vim” of markup. It’s fast, ubiquitous, and stays out of your way. For a quick blog post or a README, it is unbeatable. But like a hammer, it’s not great at turning screws. ...
In an age of proprietary binaries, the Textsmith chooses the transparency of markup. Discover the philosophy behind our digital forge.