Pros of macdown

• Full-featured Markdown editor with live preview
• Supports custom themes and CSS
• Exports to various formats (HTML, PDF)

Cons of macdown

• Larger application size
• Requires more system resources
• Not integrated with Quick Look

Code comparison

macdown (Objective-C):

- (void)renderMarkdown {
    NSString *html = [self.parser renderHTMLForMarkdown:self.editor.string];
    [self.preview loadHTMLString:html baseURL:nil];
}

qlmarkdown (C):

char *markdown_to_html(char *markdown) {
    MMIOT *doc = mkd_string(markdown, strlen(markdown), 0);
    mkd_compile(doc, MKD_FENCEDCODE | MKD_GITHUBTAGS);
    char *html;
    int size = mkd_document(doc, &html);
    return html;
}

macdown is a full-fledged Markdown editor with a graphical user interface, offering features like live preview, custom themes, and export options. It's more suitable for users who want a dedicated Markdown editing environment.

qlmarkdown, on the other hand, is a lightweight Quick Look generator for Markdown files. It integrates with macOS Finder to provide previews of Markdown files without opening a separate application. It's more focused on quick viewing rather than editing.

The code snippets show that macdown uses a parser object to render Markdown to HTML, while qlmarkdown uses the Discount library for Markdown processing. macdown's approach is more object-oriented, fitting its larger application structure, while qlmarkdown's C implementation is more lightweight and suitable for a Quick Look plugin.

Pros of MarkText

• Full-featured Markdown editor with live preview and WYSIWYG editing
• Cross-platform desktop application (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Extensive formatting options and export capabilities (PDF, HTML, etc.)

Cons of MarkText

• Larger application size and resource usage
• Steeper learning curve due to more complex features
• Requires installation and updates

Code Comparison

While a direct code comparison isn't particularly relevant due to the different nature of these projects, we can look at how they handle Markdown rendering:

QLMarkdown (Objective-C):

NSString *html = [MMMarkdown HTMLStringWithMarkdown:markdown extensions:MMMarkdownExtensionsGitHubFlavored error:&error];

MarkText (JavaScript):

import MarkdownIt from 'markdown-it'
const md = new MarkdownIt()
const html = md.render(markdown)

Summary

QLMarkdown is a lightweight QuickLook generator for Markdown files on macOS, while MarkText is a full-featured, cross-platform Markdown editor. QLMarkdown offers quick previews in Finder, whereas MarkText provides a complete editing environment with more advanced features. The choice between them depends on whether you need a simple preview tool or a comprehensive Markdown editor.

Pros of Notable

• More feature-rich, offering a full-fledged note-taking application
• Active development with regular updates and improvements
• Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Cons of Notable

• Larger codebase and more complex setup
• Heavier resource usage due to being a full application
• Steeper learning curve for users and contributors

Code Comparison

QLMarkdown (Objective-C):

- (NSData *)dataOfType:(NSString *)typeName error:(NSError **)outError
{
    return [self.markdown dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
}

Notable (TypeScript):

export const getNoteContent = (filePath: string): string => {
  return fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
};

Summary

QLMarkdown is a lightweight QuickLook generator for Markdown files on macOS, while Notable is a comprehensive note-taking application. QLMarkdown focuses on quick previews, whereas Notable offers a full suite of note management features. QLMarkdown is simpler and more focused, while Notable provides a richer user experience at the cost of increased complexity and resource usage.