Java implementation converts Markdown to plain text

The following are two mainstream methods to implement Markdown to plain text in Java, and choose the appropriate solution according to your needs:

Method 1: Use regular expressions (lightweight scheme)

Quick conversion for simple Markdown content

import ;

public class MarkdownToText {
    // Define Markdown common syntax regular expressions    private static final Pattern[] MARKDOWN_PATTERNS = {
        ("\\[(.*?)\\]\\(.*?\\)"),     // Link [text](url)        ("!\\[.*?\\]\\(.*?\\)"),      // Picture ![alt](url)        ("`{3,}[\\s\\S]*?`{3,}"),     // Code block ```code``````        ("`(.+?)`"),                 // Inline code `code`        ("^[#]{1,6}\\s*"), // Title # ## ## ("\\*{1,2}(.*?)\\*{1,2}"), // Bold/Italic *text*        ("~{2}(.*?)~{2}"),            // Strike line ~~text~~        ("^\\s*[-*+]\\s", ), // Unordered list items        ("^\\s*\\d+\\.\\s", ) // Ordered list items    };

    public static String convertToText(String markdown) {
        if (markdown == null || ()) return "";

        // Gradually replace all Markdown syntaxes        String text = markdown;
        for (Pattern pattern : MARKDOWN_PATTERNS) {
            text = (text).replaceAll("$1");
        }

        // Handle line breaks and extra spaces        return ()
                .replaceAll("\n{3,}", "\n\n")   // Multiple blank lines merge into two                .replaceAll(" {2,}", " ");      // Combine multiple spaces into one    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String md = "# Hello World!\n" +
                "This is **bold** and *italic* text.\n" +
                "[Link]()";

        (convertToText(md));
        /* Output:
         Hello World!
         This is bold and italic text.
         Link
          */
    }
}

advantage: Zero dependency, lightweight and fast

shortcoming: Unable to handle complex nested structures

Method 2: Use the Flexmark-java library (professional solution)

Recommended for handling complex Markdown documents

1. Add dependencies (Maven)

<dependency>
    <groupId></groupId>
    <artifactId>flexmark-all</artifactId>
    <version>0.64.8</version>
</dependency>

Run HTML

2. Convert code implementation

import ;
import ;
import ;
import ;
import ;
import ;

import ;

public class MarkdownToTextPro {
    public static String convert(String markdown) {
        if (markdown == null || ()) return "";

        // Configure parser (supports tables and other extensions)        MutableDataSet options = new MutableDataSet();
        (, (()));

        // Build parser and renderer        Parser parser = (options).build();
        HtmlRenderer renderer = (options).build();

        // parse Markdown to HTML        Node document = (markdown);
        String html = (document);

        // Use JSoup to remove HTML tags        return (html).text()
                .replaceAll("\\s+", " ")   // Merge extra spaces                .trim();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String md = "| Tables   | Are           | Cool  |\n" +
                "|----------|:-------------:|------:|\n" +
                "| col 1 is | left-aligned | $1600 |\n" +
                "| col 2 is | centered      |   $12 |";

        (convert(md));
        /* Output:
         Tables Are Cool col 1 is left-aligned $1600 col 2 is centered $12
          */
    }
}

advantage：

Accurately handle complex structures (tables, nested lists, etc.)
Preserve the logical order of content
Supports Markdown extension syntax

Solution comparison

characteristic	Regular Solution	Flexmark solution
Dependencies	none	Need to introduce JAR
Processing speed	Extremely fast	Faster
Syntax Support	Basic syntax	Complete syntax + extension
Code complexity	Simple	medium
Capability for handling nested structures	limited	excellent
Output readability	generally	excellent

Recommendations for use

Simple content processing: If you only need to deal with basic syntax such as titles and links, choose a regular solution

Complex document conversion: If you need to deal with complex content such as tables, code blocks, mathematical formulas, etc., use the Flexmark solution

Retaining format structure: If you need to retain paragraph line breaks and other formats, you can adjust the line break processing logic in the regular solution.

For conversions that require higher precision, there are two methods: first use Flexmark to convert, and then process special characters through regular processing.

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