Markdown vs. DITA: Balancing Simplicity and Structure in Technical Documentation

When embarking on a new documentation project, one of the first, and quite consequential choices you have to make is what tools and formats to pick. Do you go with Markdown , the ubiquitous and light-weight markup language with a low barrier to entry, or do you instead reach for an authoring system like DITA that lets you enforce structure and reuse content from day one? In this post we’re going to look at both options and evaluate the pros and cons of both approaches, and when one might choose one over the other.