Text to HTML, now that's a good idea!

Text to HTML, now that

Why I Built My Own Markdown Parser for DevStack

Markdown (MD) is a brilliant invention. It gives you formatting without cluttering your text with HTML, and it’s easy to read even in raw form. You probably already use it in README files, GitHub issues, or documentation.

But most developers eventually hit a wall:

You want more than Markdown can offer.

That’s why I built Text2Html—a custom parser that understands standard Markdown, but also supports custom objects like tooltips, callouts, Wikipedia-style popups, and embedded media.

It must be good—ChatGPT itself uses a variation of this idea to parse your prompts.

It must be good, you're reading it right now!

✅ Why Not Just Store Raw HTML?

It’s tempting to write and store HTML directly in your CMS or database fields.

But here’s why that’s a bad idea:

  • Security: HTML introduces risk—malicious scripts, layout-breaking tags, and injection vulnerabilities.
  • Bloat: Every <p>, <br>, and <strong> adds unnecessary weight to your database rows.
  • Portability: Plain text with lightweight markup is easier to version, diff, and migrate.
  • User Editing: You don’t want your content writers messing with HTML tags!

With Text2Html, you store lean, clean Markdown-like text, and convert it to HTML at runtime or on demand.

🔹 Custom Features I’ve Added

My parser goes beyond traditional Markdown:

  • ✅ Wikipedia-style popups triggered by custom tags
  • ✅ Custom alert boxes and callouts
  • ✅ Safe embedded media (SoundCloud, YouTube)
  • ✅ Advanced tables, footnotes, and inline formatting
  • ✅ Compatible with syntax highlighters (like Prism.js)

It’s perfect for content-rich apps, knowledge bases, blogging platforms, or anywhere you need rich content without the bloat.

🧠 Built for Developers and Businesses

This isn't a hobby script—it's battle-tested across production sites, including DevStack, my modular .NET Core Core 8 framework.

As someone with 30+ years of business experience, I’ve seen firsthand how painful it is when content breaks a layout, causes security alerts, or bloats your CMS.

“I wish someone had solved this for me years ago.”
Now I can offer that solution to you.

Want to Use It?

You can:

  • Clone the logic from DevStack and adapt it to your system
  • Or skip the integration pain and let me implement it for you

Take a look at my tech CV to see why I'm not just another developer—and book a quick chat if you want to get it working without burning a day debugging edge cases (like I did 😅).

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