hVmark

hVmark is a tiny, opinionated markup language made by and for, well, me. While it's used all over this website, it's primarily used in posts in lieu of hard-coded HTML.

hVmark 88x31 button.

Formatting Markers

Block Formatting

Text Formatting

Headings

Misc.

All use the same “anchor + fangs” pattern as quotes: @@anchor^fangs^

Lists

Notes & Quirks

Changelog

Version Convention
v[major].[minor].[patch]

[2026-10-07] - v1.8.7

[2026-10-05] - v1.8.6

[2026-10-02] - v1.8.5

[2026-09-26] - v1.8.4

[2026-09-23] - v1.8.3

[2026-09-13] - v1.8.2

[2026-09-10] - v1.8.1

[2026-07-28] - v1.8.0

[2026-05-24] - v1.7.0

[2026-04-10] - v1.6.1

[2026-03-31] - v1.6.0

[2025-12-29] - v1.5.0

[2025-12-27] - v1.4.1 | Vanilla Reference Model

[2025-11-15] - v1.4.0

[2025-10-22] - v1.3.0

[2025-09-30] - v1.2.0

[2025-09-09] - v1.1.0

[2025-09-05] - v1.0.0

hVmark v1 is available under the MIT license.
hVmark is not a general-purpose Markdown replacement;
it’s a small, strict tool that I actively use and maintain.

And, yes: this document was written in hVmark.
View Source 
<?php
	$hvmark = <<<TXT
	<!--_This page documents *hVmark v1.x*. See Changelog for updates._-->
	*# hVmark*

	*hVmark* is a tiny, opinionated markup language made by and for, well, me. While it's used all over this website, it's primarily used in posts in lieu of hard-coded HTML.

	@@img:/images/buttons/hvmark.png[88px blank]^hVmark 88x31 button.|+|^

	<!--HV_TOC-->

	*// Formatting Markers*

	*|| Block Formatting*

	[+] *Center Text*: `&text&` []Wraps line in `<center>` tag.
	[+] *Quotes*: `@@quo:First paragraph. {}Second paragraph.^Attribution^` []Creates a `<blockquote>`.  `{}` acts as a hard line break/paragraph separator that only works inside of the quote field.  Attributions are wrapped in a trailing `<footer>`.

	*|| Text Formatting*

	[+] *Bold*: `*text*`
	[+] /Emphasis/ (Italics): `/text/` []Alternate: `%text%`
	[+] -Strike-: `-text-`
	[+] _Underline_: `_text_`
	[+] `Code`: ```text```

	*|| Headings*

	[+] *Main Heading*: `*# Main Heading Text*`
	[+] *Main Heading output*: `<h1># Main Heading Text</h1>` []Actual heading level is based on what Lvl 1 is.
	[+] *Subheading Lvl 1*: `*// Subheading Text*`
	[+] *Subheading Lvl 1 output*: `<h2 id="subheading-text">// Subheading Text</h2>` []Actual heading level is based on config.
	[+] *Subheading Lvl 2*: `*|| Subsubheading Text*`
	[+] *Subheading Lvl 2 output*: `<h3 id="subsubheading-text">|| Subsubheading Text</h3>` []Actual heading level is based on what Lvl 1 is.
	[+] *Optional TOC*: If two or more high-level subheadings are found, a table of contents will be generated.  The TOC is automatically placed under the main heading (`<h1>`) of the page, at the top of the page if a main heading isn't present, or at the location of `<!--HV_TOC-->`.
	[+] The visibility of symbols in headings and the TOC can be toggled in config.

	*|| Misc.*

	[+] *Soft line break*: `[]` → `<br>`
	[+] *Horizontal rule*: `---` → `<hr>` []*Three or more* `-`, `*`, or `_` characters on their own line will output a horizontal rule.  []Output styling depends on configuration.

	*// Links, Images, YouTube*

	All use the same *“anchor + fangs”* pattern as quotes: `@@anchor^fangs^`

	[+] *Links*: `@@https://example.com/^Link text^` [](leave fangs empty to use the URL as text, e.g. `@@https://example.com/^^`)
	[+] *Images*: `@@img:/path/file.jpg^Caption^` (85% width by default; caption optional) []Full: `@@img:/path/file.jpg[(50px|25%) (left|right|center|blank)]^Alt Text.|+|Caption Text.^`
	[+] *YouTube*: `@@ytb:VIDEOID^Title|+|Caption Text.^` (caption optional)

	*// Lists*

	[+] *Dotted*: one item per line starting with `[+]`
	[+] *Plain*: one item per line starting with `[-]`
	[+] Soft breaks are allowed inside items via `[]`

	*// Notes & Quirks*

	[+] */Order matters/ when nesting*: `*` and `/` are forgiving, but consistent nesting is recommended.
	[+] Inline raw HTML on a line disables hVmark parsing on that line.
	[+] A backslash will escape an inline marker and output the literal symbol. [](e.g., `\/` will output \/.)
	[+] Emojis are supported in regular text, but not in subheadings.
	[+] Subheadings with similar names will have duplicate IDs; the TOC generator does not add incrementing suffixes.
	[+] Quotes are *_text only_*.

	*// Changelog*
	TXT;

	$cl_opts = [
		"placeholder" => "<!--CL_TOC-->",
		"class"       => "cl",
		"label"       => "Changelog",
		"bullet"	  => ""
	];

	$changelog = <<<TXT
	*Version Convention* []`v[major].[minor].[patch]`

	<!--CL_TOC-->

	*// [2026-10-07] - v1.8.7*
	[+] Main Heading added, since it came free with the previous patches.
	[+] Fixed a simple, yet catastrophic, TOC bug introduced in `v1.8.6`.
	[+] So many patches... []You can say I'm /killing it/ right now.

	*|| [2026-10-05] - v1.8.6*
	[+] `//` and `||` visually appearing in subheadings is now configurable.

	*|| [2026-10-02] - v1.8.5*
	[+] Alt text and caption text in images can now be set separately using `|+|`.
	[+] Example: `@@img:/path/to/nothing.png^Alt text.|+|Caption Text.^` []*Order matters* with placement; alt text first, and caption second.
	[+] If either one is empty, the other will still appear in its respective field.
	[+] Without `|+|`, the text will revert to being both the alt text and the caption.
	[+] Also works for `@@ytb:VIDEOID^Title|+|Caption.^`, with the first field acting as the title of the embedded object. [](An empty title will revert to the default name.)
	[+] Tabbed whitespace cleanup.

	*|| [2026-09-26] - v1.8.4*
	[+] Subheading levels added: []`*// Subheading Text*` is level 1, []`*|| Subsubheading Text*` is level 2.
	[+] I honestly can't imagine the existence of a level 3.
	[+] But as this past year has taught me, never say never.
	[+] So, who knows what the future holds?

	*|| [2026-09-23] - v1.8.3*
	[+] Table of contents refinement.
	[+] We've never had this many patch releases before... []It feels weird.

	*|| [2026-09-13] - v1.8.2*
	[+] All the small things... [](Misc. tiny fixes.)

	*|| [2026-09-10] - v1.8.1*
	[+] hVmark celebrates first anniversary... five days ago.
	[+] Automatic escaping for non-anchored URLs.
	[+] An updated/better parser demo was made for the repo.

	*|| [2026-07-28] - v1.8.0*
	[+] *New block formatting marker.* []Quotes: `@@quo:Quote^Optional Attribution^`
	[+] Alt text of images can now include marker symbols.
	[+] Misc. output cleanup.

	*// [2026-05-24] - v1.7.0*
	[+] New italic text marker: `/text/`
	[+] `%text%` is now considered deprecated, but will remain in codebase for backwards compatibility.
	[+] Note @@/man-page#deprecation-policy^Deprecation Policy^ for more info on future use.

	*// [2026-04-10] - v1.6.1*
	[+] Improved code escaping.
	[+] General housekeeping & bug stomping.

	*|| [2026-03-31] - v1.6.0*
	[+] Added code and centered text markers.
	[+] Leaned into the %"this parser emits deprecated code"% angle, because why not?
	[+] Seriously deliberating adding blockquotes.

	*// [2025-12-29] - v1.5.0*
	[+] Added horizontal rule markers [](`---`, `***` and `___`).
	[+] Cleaned up vanilla reference model.
	[+] Misc. output cleanup.

	*// [2025-12-27] - v1.4.1 | Vanilla Reference Model*
	[+] Project up to this point was made available via %GitHub%.
	[+] Site-specific code was removed; []model contains the _root functionality_.
	[+] Published under the MIT license.
	[+] @@https://github.com/HisVirusness/hvmark^Download Here^

	*|| [2025-11-15] - v1.4.0*
	[+] Parser consistency pass for anchors/fangs (images & YouTube).
	[+] Global image behavior normalized; width/align controlled at source.
	[+] Added style-fallbacks to make targeted output CSS-agnostic.
	[+] Minor general output cleanup.

	*// [2025-10-22] - v1.3.0*
	[+] Global declarations added for centralized control.
	[+] Added subheading marker []`*// Heading*` → `<h# id="...">`.
	[+] Auto-TOC under first `<h1>/<h2>` or at `<!--HV_TOC-->`.

	*// [2025-09-30] - v1.2.0*
	[+] Module consolidation and general housekeeping.
	[+] Regex tightening for text-formatting markers.
	[+] Misc. bug fixes.

	*// [2025-09-09] - v1.1.0*
	[+] Escapes: `\* \% \- \_ \[]` (literal output).
	[+] Image size `[px|%]` and alignment `left|right|center|blank`.
	[+] Misc. bug fixes.

	*// [2025-09-05] - v1.0.0*
	[+] v1 initial: strict per-line parsing; inline HTML on a line disables hVmark on that line.
	[+] Inline text-formatting markers.
	[+] “Anchor + fangs” for links/images/YouTube.
	[+] Soft line break `[]` inside lists/captions.
	[+] Lists: `[+]` (dotted) and `[-]` (plain).
	[+] Wired root hVmark parser into existing auto-paragraphing framework.

	---

	&*hVmark v1* is @@https://github.com/HisVirusness/hvmark^available under the MIT license^. []hVmark is _not a general-purpose Markdown replacement_; []it’s a small, strict tool that I actively use and maintain.&
	&[]And, yes: *this document was written in hVmark.*&
	TXT;

	$hv_tabcount = 1;
	$hv_subhead_symbols = false;

	$hv_lines = preg_split('/\R/', $hvmark, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
	$hv_output = hvmark_web($hv_lines);
	hvmark_gentoc($hv_output);
	echo $hv_output;

	$hv_subhead_symbols = true;

	$cl_lines = preg_split('/\R/', $changelog, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
	$cl_output = hvmark_web($cl_lines);
	hvmark_gentoc($cl_output, $cl_opts);
	echo $cl_output;
?>