Markdown vs Textile... this is a tough one. I use both pretty regularly, and each has its perks and weaknesses.

When to Use Markdown

I usually choose Markdown over Textile when I'm:

• Jotting down general notes
• Drafting client proposals
• Reformatting HTML content

Markdown is much easier to read during editing, even without converting the document to HTML. Often times I'll send my markdown docs directly to my client or colleagues, as it's pretty much just plain text. The syntax is pretty logical and easy to follow for people who don't know the syntax, with the exception of a few tags (i.e. links, images).

I use markdown for most of my blog posting, mostly because it's a bit quicker for me to write. Plus I don't have to try to remember the markup outline format (i.e. heading sizes) when drafting posts.

When to Use Textile

I will generally choose Textile over Markdown when I'm:

• Writing exclusively HTML text
• Writing html content which needs tables
• Drafting content for static html areas

Generally, Textile is the better choice when you're sure you'll only need the content in HTML format. Also it's a nice choice if you hace a solid CMS that relies on it. It makes it much easier to modify content via plain text than just some shotty WYSIWYG.

Check out MultiMarkdown

MultiMarkdown is another flavor of markdown, and it's actually pretty nice. I use the multimarkdown plugin for TextMate. Right out of textmate, I can convert my document to HTML, PDF, and RTF.

Plus multimarkdown has support for more complex elements, like tables and definition lists. Check it out here: http://fletcherpenney.net/MultiMarkdown

More info:

Reference

Markdown

MultiMarkdown

Textile

Cool

Blogging with TextMate

Articles

Alexandre Notebook