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Pandoc

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Pandoc vs wkhtmltopdf: What are the differences?

Introduction

Pandoc and wkhtmltopdf are both popular tools used for converting documents into different formats. However, they have several key differences in terms of their functionalities and capabilities.

  1. Conversion Formats: Pandoc is a versatile tool that supports conversion between a wide range of formats including HTML, Markdown, LaTeX, PDF, and more. It allows users to convert documents from one format to another seamlessly. On the other hand, wkhtmltopdf specifically focuses on converting HTML documents to PDF format.

  2. Input Document Types: Pandoc can handle various input document types such as Markdown, HTML, and LaTeX. It can understand and process complex document structures, equations, and metadata. In contrast, wkhtmltopdf primarily deals with HTML documents as input. It relies on the rendering capabilities of the web browser engine to convert HTML to PDF.

  3. Customization and Styling: Pandoc provides extensive customization options and stylesheets to control the appearance of the converted document. Users can apply specific themes, modify fonts, add headers and footers, and define various styling elements. Conversely, wkhtmltopdf has limited customization capabilities. It depends on the CSS styles embedded within the HTML document or externally linked stylesheets.

  4. Scripting and Automation: Pandoc offers a command-line interface and scripting capabilities, allowing users to automate document conversions. It provides a wide range of options to control the conversion process, manipulate metadata, and apply various filters. In contrast, wkhtmltopdf primarily operates as a command-line tool with limited scripting capabilities.

  5. Dependency Requirements: Depending on the operating system, Pandoc may require specific dependencies, such as LaTeX or specific libraries, for certain conversions. These dependencies need to be installed separately for Pandoc to function properly. Conversely, wkhtmltopdf is a standalone tool that does not have extensive dependencies. It includes its own web browser engine to render HTML content.

  6. Community and Support: Pandoc has a vibrant and active community with extensive documentation, tutorials, and forums. It is widely used in academia and by technical writers, leading to a rich ecosystem of plugins and extensions. In comparison, while wkhtmltopdf also has community support, its user base is relatively smaller in comparison, resulting in a smaller ecosystem of extensions and resources.

In Summary, Pandoc offers a wider range of conversion formats, supports various input document types, provides extensive customization capabilities, has advanced scripting and automation features, may have more dependency requirements, and benefits from a larger user community and support network. On the other hand, wkhtmltopdf focuses primarily on converting HTML to PDF, has limited customization options, acts as a standalone tool with fewer dependencies, and has a smaller user community.

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    What is Pandoc?

    It is a free and open-source document converter, widely used as a writing tool and as a basis for publishing workflows. It converts files from one markup format into another. It can convert documents in (several dialects of) Markdown, reStructuredText, textile, HTML, DocBook, LaTeX, MediaWiki markup, TWiki and many more.

    What is wkhtmltopdf?

    wkhtmltopdf and wkhtmltoimage are command line tools to render HTML into PDF and various image formats using the QT Webkit rendering engine. These run entirely "headless" and do not require a display or display service.

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    What are some alternatives to Pandoc and wkhtmltopdf?
    Sphinx
    It lets you either batch index and search data stored in an SQL database, NoSQL storage, or just files quickly and easily — or index and search data on the fly, working with it pretty much as with a database server.
    Markdown
    Markdown is two things: (1) a plain text formatting syntax; and (2) a software tool, written in Perl, that converts the plain text formatting to HTML.
    Jekyll
    Think of Jekyll as a file-based CMS, without all the complexity. Jekyll takes your content, renders Markdown and Liquid templates, and spits out a complete, static website ready to be served by Apache, Nginx or another web server. Jekyll is the engine behind GitHub Pages, which you can use to host sites right from your GitHub repositories.
    Asciidoctor
    It is a fast, open source text processor and publishing toolchain for converting AsciiDoc content to HTML5, DocBook, PDF, and other formats. Asciidoctor is written in Ruby and runs on all major operating systems
    Typ
    It is a simple typesetting application. Turn plain Markdown into a formatted PDF, ready for print. Focus on content, not formatting.
    See all alternatives