md2ltx 0.0.30

Convert Markdown (.md) files to PDF ...

md2ltx

A command-line tool for converting Markdown to LateX-formatted PDF via Pandoc. Requires a pip virtual environment in Ubuntu/ Debian based OS.

1. Quickstart

1.1. Installation

pip install md2ltx; md2ltx --install_dependencies

1.2. Usage

md2ltx [source.md] [output.pdf] [--open] [--help]

• source_file: Path to the input Markdown (.md) file.

• output_pdf (optional): Path to the output PDF file. If omitted, a default name is derived from the source file, and the working directory is assumed to be the path.

• --open: Open the resulting PDF in the system’s default viewer.

• --template template_name: Specify a built-in templates by name. Available templates: "one-column-article", "two-column-article", "report", "slides", "letter").

• --help: Access documentation.

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2. Templates

md2ltx can inject Markdown content into a LaTeX “template” that defines the overall look and structure of the PDF. You can choose from these built-in templates:

• "one-column-article"
• "two-column-article"
• "report"
• "slides"
• "letter"

When you run md2ltx (or Pandoc directly), you can specify the template with the “--template” flag. Pandoc then loads that template, replacing special variables like $title$, $author$, $date$, and $body$ with metadata and the converted Markdown content.

2.1. Common Fields in the YAML Metadata

• one-column-article/ two-column-article / report:

• title: Title of your document
• author: Author name(s)
• date: Date displayed below the author(s)

• slides (Beamer presentations):

• title: Presentation title
• subtitle: (Optional) subtitle for your presentation
• author: Presenter name(s)
• date: Date (often included on the title slide)

• letter:

• author: Sender’s name (also used in \signature)
• address: Sender’s address
• date: Date displayed in the letter
• recipient: Recipient name or address
• greeting: Opening phrase (e.g., “Dear John,”)
• closing: Closing phrase (e.g., “Regards,”)

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2.2. Using the Templates

Pandoc reads these fields from a YAML block at the top of your Markdown file. For example:

---
title: "My Awesome Title"
author: "John Doe"
date: "October 4, 2023"
---

# Sample Document

This is a **Markdown** document to test `compile_markdown_to_pdf` from `main.py`.

## Advantages of Markdown

- Easy to write
- Human-readable
- Widely supported

## Conclusion

Markdown is fantastic!

When you run md2ltx:

md2ltx my_document.md --template=two-column-article

Pandoc loads the chosen “two-column-article” template, substitutes $title$, $author$, $date$, and $body$, and then compiles a PDF. The same process applies to any of the provided templates.

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3. Embedded Python Code with <EVALUATION::FLAG>

md2ltx supports executing Python code blocks inline with your Markdown, replacing placeholders (<EVALUATION::FLAG>) with the code’s return value. Each code block is identified by a “FLAG” (like “1” or compute_2), and each placeholder references that same FLAG. This allows multiple separate code evaluations in a single document.

Syntax Overview:

• A placeholder in your Markdown:
  <EVALUATION::FLAG>
• A corresponding Python code block, delimited by lines that start with [EVALUATE::FLAG] and at least three “#” characters, e.g.:
  [EVALUATE::FLAG]####
  (your Python code defining evaluate())
  [EVALUATE::FLAG]####

During processing, md2ltx:
• Finds all <EVALUATION::some_flag> placeholders.
• Locates the matching code block [EVALUATE::some_flag]#### … [EVALUATE::some_flag]#### in your Markdown.
• Executes the code (which must define a function named evaluate() -> str).
• Replaces <EVALUATION::some_flag> with the string returned by evaluate().

3.1. Requirements

• Exactly one function named evaluate() in each code block, returning a string.
• md2ltx automatically calls evaluate() you do not call it yourself.
• Leading/trailing whitespace in the returned string is trimmed.
• Your code can freely use math, pandas (as pd), numpy (as np), and rgwfuncs without needing to import them.

3.2. Example

Suppose you want to compute the square root of 16 in your Markdown, labeling that code block with the FLAG “1”:

Here’s the result: <EVALUATION::1>

[EVALUATE::1]###################################################################
    def evaluate() -> str:
        val = math.sqrt(16)
        return f"The square root of 16 is {val}"
[EVALUATE::1]###################################################################

When md2ltx processes this:

• Finds <EVALUATION::1>
• Extracts and executes the code within the block marked [EVALUATE::1] … [EVALUATE::1]
• Replaces the placeholder with whatever evaluate() returns, e.g. “The square root of 16 is 4.0.”

3.3. Another Example with Pandas, NumPy

Say you also define a second code block with FLAG compute_2:

The mean is: <EVALUATION::`compute_2`>

[EVALUATE::`compute_2`]###########################################################
    def evaluate() -> str:
        data = np.array([1,2,3,4])
        s = pd.Series(data)
        return f"{s.mean()}"
[EVALUATE::`compute_2`]###########################################################

Here we use a NumPy array and a pandas Series within evaluate(). The placeholder <EVALUATION::compute_2> will be replaced by the string returned, for instance “2.5.”

3.4. Multiple Evaluations in One Document

You can place as many <EVALUATION::FLAG> placeholders and corresponding code blocks as you need. Each FLAG is matched with its own code block, allowing you to perform separate computations throughout the document.

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4. General Pandoc Tranformations

md2ltx uses Pandoc to transform Markdown files into LaTeX, which pdflatex then uses to generate a final PDF. This workflow supports most of Markdown’s core syntax plus many Pandoc extensions. Below is a high-level overview of how Pandoc typically converts various Markdown constructs into LaTeX. For full details, refer to Pandoc’s official documentation.

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4.1. Headings

• Markdown

# Heading 1  
## Heading 2  
### Heading 3

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\section{Heading 1}  
\subsection{Heading 2}  
\subsubsection{Heading 3}

Pandoc chooses \section, \subsection, etc. based on the heading level. It also supports underline-style Markdown headings with “===” or “---” for level-one and level-two headings.

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4.2. Emphasis & Strong Emphasis

• Markdown

*emphasis* or _emphasis_  
**strong emphasis** or __strong emphasis__

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\emph{emphasis}  
\textbf{strong emphasis}

---

4.3. Inline Code

• Markdown

`inline code`

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\texttt{inline code}

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4.4. Code Blocks

• Markdown (fenced)

```  
a = 1  
b = 2  
```

• Pandoc → LaTeX (by default)

\begin{verbatim}  
a = 1  
b = 2  
\end{verbatim}

With certain options, Pandoc can use different LaTeX environments (e.g., listings).

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4.5. Lists

• Unordered (Markdown)

- item 1  
- item 2  
- item 3

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{itemize}  
\item item 1  
\item item 2  
\item item 3  
\end{itemize}

• Ordered (Markdown)

1. item 1  
2. item 2

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{enumerate}  
\item item 1  
\item item 2  
\end{enumerate}

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4.6. Links & Images

• Link (Markdown)

[Pandoc](https://pandoc.org)

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\href{https://pandoc.org}{Pandoc}

• Image (Markdown)

![Alt text](image.png)

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\includegraphics{image.png}

By default, \includegraphics is placed without floats. You can add captions or figure environments using extended syntax or metadata.

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4.7. Blockquotes

• Markdown

> This is a blockquote.

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{quote}  
This is a blockquote.  
\end{quote}

---

4.8. Horizontal Rules

• Markdown

---  
***  
___

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\hrule

---

4.9. Footnotes (Pandoc Extension)

• Markdown

This is some text with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote text.

• Pandoc → LaTeX

This is some text with a footnote.\footnote{This is the footnote text.}

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4.10. Tables

• Markdown (simple pipe table)

| Column1 | Column2 |  
|---------|---------|  
| Val1    | Val2    |  
| Val3    | Val4    |

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\begin{table}  
\centering  
\begin{tabular}{ll}  
\hline  
Column1 & Column2 \\  
\hline  
Val1    & Val2    \\  
Val3    & Val4    \\  
\hline  
\end{tabular}  
\end{table}

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4.11. Math & LaTeX Blocks

• Inline Math

$E = mc^2$

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\(E = mc^2\)

• Display Math

$$  
E = mc^2  
$$

• Pandoc → LaTeX

\[  
E = mc^2  
\]

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4.12. Citations & Bibliographies

Pandoc can handle citations if you provide a bibliography file. A reference like [@smith2009] can become \cite{smith2009} or \autocite depending on the style and Pandoc’s command-line options.

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4.14. Raw LaTeX

Pandoc passes raw LaTeX through if you’re converting to LaTeX or PDF. For example:

\newpage

remains \newpage in the output.

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