KeenWrite[0], the FOSS Markdown editor I’ve been working on, includes the ability to render plain text diagrams via Kroki[1]†. See the screenshots[2] for examples. Here’s a sample Markdown document that was typeset[3] using ConTeXt[4] (and an early version of the Solare[5] theme).
One reason I developed KeenWrite was to use variables inside of plain text diagrams. In the genealogy diagram, when any character name (that’s within the diagram) is updated, the diagram regenerates automatically. (The variables are defined in an external YAML file, allowing for integration with build pipelines.)
Version 3.x containerizes the typesetting system, which greatly simplifies the installation instructions that allow typesetting Markdown into PDF files. It also opens the door to moving Kroki into the container so that diagram descriptions aren’t pushed over the Internet to be rendered.
Note that Mermaid diagrams generate non-conforming SVG[6], so they don’t render outside of web browsers. There is work being done to address[7] this problem.
One reason I developed KeenWrite was to use variables inside of plain text diagrams. In the genealogy diagram, when any character name (that’s within the diagram) is updated, the diagram regenerates automatically. (The variables are defined in an external YAML file, allowing for integration with build pipelines.)
Version 3.x containerizes the typesetting system, which greatly simplifies the installation instructions that allow typesetting Markdown into PDF files. It also opens the door to moving Kroki into the container so that diagram descriptions aren’t pushed over the Internet to be rendered.
†Kroki, ergo KeenWrite, supports BlockDiag (BlockDiag, SeqDiag, ActDiag, NwDiag, PacketDiag, RackDiag), BPMN, Bytefield, C4 (with PlantUML), Ditaa, Erd, Excalidraw, GraphViz, Nomnoml, Pikchr, PlantUML, Structurizr, SvgBob, UMLet, Vega, Vega-Lite, and WaveDrom.
Note that Mermaid diagrams generate non-conforming SVG[6], so they don’t render outside of web browsers. There is work being done to address[7] this problem.
[0]: https://github.com/DaveJarvis/keenwrite
[1]: https://kroki.io/
[2]: https://github.com/DaveJarvis/keenwrite/blob/main/docs/scree...
[3]: https://pdfhost.io/v/4FeAGGasj_SepiSolar_Highlevel_Software_...
[4]: https://wiki.contextgarden.net/Main_Page
[5]: https://github.com/DaveJarvis/keenwrite-themes/
[6]: https://github.com/mermaid-js/mermaid/issues/2485
[7]: https://github.com/yuzutech/kroki/issues/1410