#Introduction LaMark is a tool for embedding LaTeX in Markdown files. It is designed as a companion to Markdown blogging platforms such as Octopress and Jekyll.

Here is an example of a LaMark file: https://github.com/beala/lamark/blob/master/lamark/test/functional/demo1.lm

And the cooresponding HTML: http://media.usrsb.in/lamark-demo/demo.html

For detailed documentation about the LaMark language and its tags, please see the wiki.

#Overview LaMark allows LaTeX to be embedded in Markdown files. Running a mixed LaTeX/Markdown file (called a LaMark file) through the LaMark processor will result in a pure Markdown file, along with a set of images that correspond to the embedded LaTeX. For example, consider this LaMark file:

#Some LaTeX
{% math "http://media.usrsb.in/" %}
a^2+b^2=c^2
{% end %}

{% math "http://media.usrsb.in/" imgName="one-half.png" %}
\frac{1}{2}
{% end %}

Running this through the LaMark processor will result in:

#Some LaTeX
![http://media.usrsb.in/0.png](http://media.usrsb.in/0.png)

![http://media.usrsb.in/one-half.png](http://media.usrsb.in/one-half.png)

Along with two image files: 0.png and one-half.png

Using the command line tool is easy. Process a LaMark file named example.lm with:

lamark -f example.lm -o markdown.md

Or convert straight to HTML using the reference implementation of Markdown:

lamark -f example.lm | ./Markdown.pl > example.html

#Installation

pip install lamark

latex and dvipng are required.

• OS X: Install MacTeX: http://tug.org/mactex/
• Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install texlive

Tested on Python 2.7.2+

#Tutorial

Let's start by embedding an equation in our document using the math tag. The following LaMark embeds the equation a^2:

{% math %} a^2 {% end %}

Here we have the LaTeX equation a^2 wrapped in a math tag. Notice that the tag starts with {%math%} and ends with a generic {%end%} tag. All tags that require a closing tag end with the generic {%end%} tag. As can be seen, LaMark resembles HTML, where strings are wrapped in tags to represent formatting/styling.

Just like HTML, LaMark tags also support arguments. Here is the same math tag, with the path to the generated image set to http://media.usrsb.in/eq:

{% math path="http://media.usrsb.in/eq/" %} a^2 {% end %}

Notice that the path really is just a path. There is no image name. Because we've omitted an image name, the image names will start at 0.png and increase. We also have the option of explicitly setting an image name:

{% math path="http://media.usrsb.in/eq/" imgName="a_squared.png" %}
a^2
{% end %}

The generated image will now be called a_squared.png, and the generated Markdown will look like:

![http://media.usrsb.in/eq/a_squared.png](http://media.usrsb.in/eq/a_squared.png)

To generate this yourself, drop that tag in a text file, and run it through the LaMark processor:

lamark -f lamarkfile.lm

Please see the tag reference for the other tags and arguments that are available.

#Command Line Using the command line tool is self-explanatory:

usage: lamark [-h] [-f FILE] [-o FILE] [-i DIR] [--zoom ZOOM] [--no-images]
              [--image-path PATH] [--doc-name NAME] [--debug] [--warn]
              [--version]

A tool for embedding LaTeX in Markdown.

optional arguments:
  -h, --help         show this help message and exit
  -f FILE            LaMark input file. Default is stdin.
  -o FILE            Markdown output file. Images will be placed in same
                     directory unless overridden with -i. Defaults to stdout,
                     in which case images will be placed in the pwd.
  -i DIR             Image directory.
  --zoom ZOOM        Default zoom value to pass to dvipng. Defaults to 2000
  --no-images        Don't generate images, just generate markdown.
  --image-path PATH  The generated markdown will point to the generated images
                     in its source. This sets the default path used in these
                     image tags. This is useful if you will be uploading the
                     images to a server. The default path is relative to the
                     generated file.
  --doc-name NAME    If input is coming from stdin, use this option to give
                     your document a name. This name can be used by the
                     generation stages.
  --debug            Turn on debug messages.
  --warn             Turn on warning messages.
  --version          Display version.

#License

Copyright (c) 2012 Alex Beal <[email protected]>

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to
use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies
of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do
so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.