Image syntax

[Mark Lawrence]

On Jul 27, 2005, at 3:53 PM, John Gruber wrote:


> I just think we can do better. I do prefer writing this:

>

>     <img

>         src='http://daringfireball.net/misc/2005/07/vancouver- 

> weather-1.png'

>         alt='Screenshot of the Weather widget, after typing  

> ‘Vancouver’.'

>     />

>

> to the current Markdown syntax, but I'd prefer writing this even more:

>

>     <http://daringfireball.net/misc/2005/07/vancouver-weather-1.png>

>     (Screenshot of the Weather widget, after typing ‘Vancouver’.)


I started writing about what I didn't like about this proposed  
syntax, but as I've been looking at it sitting at the top of my  
message editor it's started to grow on me. To the reader of the plain  
text, this looks like a link followed by an explanatory parenthetical  
comment, which is probably what you would do in an email. So I may be  
withdrawing my previous "bold" statement.

If this syntax is adopted, will parenthetical comments after  
automatic links be verboten?

I really dislike sticking size and alignment directives between the  
URL and the alt text. That, if may go back to being bold again,  
violates the Markdown spirit by adding nothing to the plain text  
version of the document. Surely that is what the HTML escape valve is  
for.

--
Mark Lawrence