textis

Textis is a lightweight markup language and processing framework designed for writing structured plain text and converting it into other formats. It focuses on readability for authors and predictable parsing for processors, with a small, stable syntax that aims to minimize ambiguity. Textis documents consist of content blocks such as headings, paragraphs, lists, and inline formatting, plus optional metadata.

Origin and usage: The term textis blends “text” and “is” and refers to several independent projects rather than a single standard. Active implementations appeared in open‑source projects in the mid-2010s, with communities emphasizing interoperability across languages and easy export to HTML, PDF, and ePub.

Syntax and features: Textis uses a concise, human‑readable syntax. A document begins with a metadata block, followed by blocks for headings, paragraphs, quotes, and code. Inline formatting uses simple markers, such as [em]text[/em] for emphasis and [link http://example.org]example[/link] for hyperlinks, while lists can be ordered or unordered with dash markers. It supports front matter, table blocks, and fenced code sections.

Processing and output: Textis documents are transformed through processors that interpret the syntax and render to HTML, PDF, LaTeX, or other formats. Processors can be extended with plugins for syntax highlighting, citations, or bibliography management. The separation of content and presentation aims to simplify publishing workflows and ensure consistent output across platforms.

Reception: Textis remains a niche option, favored by small documentation projects and writers who prefer a minimal, extensible alternative to Markdown. It is less widespread than Markdown but valued for its explicit structure and extensibility.

Related topics include Markdown, reStructuredText, and AsciiDoc.