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# Core Conversion
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Core conversion functionality for transforming between Markdown and HTML formats using the showdown.Converter class.
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## Capabilities
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### Converter Constructor
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Creates a new Converter instance with optional configuration.
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```javascript { .api }
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/**
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 * Creates a new Showdown Converter instance
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 * @param converterOptions - Optional configuration object
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 * @returns New Converter instance
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 */
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new showdown.Converter(converterOptions?: ConverterOptions): Converter
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```
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**Usage Examples:**
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```javascript
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// Default converter
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const converter = new showdown.Converter();
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// Converter with options
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const converter = new showdown.Converter({
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  tables: true,
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  strikethrough: true,
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  ghCodeBlocks: true,
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  tasklists: true
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});
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// Converter with extensions
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const converter = new showdown.Converter({
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  extensions: ['my-extension']
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});
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```
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### makeHtml
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Converts Markdown text to HTML.
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```javascript { .api }
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/**
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 * Converts a markdown string into HTML
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 * @param text - Markdown text to convert
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 * @returns HTML string
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 */
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converter.makeHtml(text: string): string
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```
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**Usage Examples:**
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```javascript
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const converter = new showdown.Converter();
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// Basic conversion
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const html = converter.makeHtml('# Hello World');
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console.log(html); // <h1 id="helloworld">Hello World</h1>
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// Complex markdown
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const markdown = `
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# Title
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This is **bold** and *italic* text.
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- List item 1
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- List item 2
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\`\`\`javascript
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console.log('Hello');
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\`\`\`
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`;
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const html = converter.makeHtml(markdown);
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```
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### makeMarkdown
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Converts HTML back to Markdown format.
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```javascript { .api }
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/**
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 * Converts HTML into Markdown
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 * @param src - HTML string to convert  
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 * @param HTMLParser - Optional HTML parser to use
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 * @returns Markdown string
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 */
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converter.makeMarkdown(src: string, HTMLParser?: any): string
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```
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**Usage Examples:**
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```javascript
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const converter = new showdown.Converter();
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// Basic HTML to Markdown
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const markdown = converter.makeMarkdown('<h1>Hello World</h1>');
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console.log(markdown); // # Hello World
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// Complex HTML
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const html = `
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<h1>Title</h1>
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<p>This is <strong>bold</strong> and <em>italic</em> text.</p>
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<ul>
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<li>List item 1</li>
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<li>List item 2</li>
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</ul>
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`;
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const markdown = converter.makeMarkdown(html);
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```
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### makeMd
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Alias for `makeMarkdown` method.
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```javascript { .api }
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/**
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 * Alias for makeMarkdown - converts HTML into Markdown
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 * @param src - HTML string to convert
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 * @param HTMLParser - Optional HTML parser to use
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 * @returns Markdown string
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 */
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converter.makeMd(src: string, HTMLParser?: any): string
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```
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**Usage Examples:**
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```javascript
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const converter = new showdown.Converter();
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// Same functionality as makeMarkdown
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const markdown = converter.makeMd('<p><strong>Bold text</strong></p>');
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console.log(markdown); // **Bold text**
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```
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## Error Handling
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The conversion methods handle various edge cases:
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```javascript
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const converter = new showdown.Converter();
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// Empty or falsy input returns the input as-is
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console.log(converter.makeHtml('')); // ''
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console.log(converter.makeHtml(null)); // null
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console.log(converter.makeHtml(undefined)); // undefined
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// Invalid HTML for makeMarkdown may produce unexpected results
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// Always validate input when converting user-provided HTML
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```
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## Performance Considerations
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- Converter instances can be reused for multiple conversions
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- Creating multiple converters with the same options is inefficient
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- Large documents may benefit from chunking or streaming approaches
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- Extensions can significantly impact conversion performance