Definition Lists & Footnotes Demo¶

This page demonstrates definition lists and footnotes functionality in MkDocs with Material theme.

Definition Lists¶

Definition lists are used to display terms and their corresponding definitions. They're perfect for glossaries, documentation of parameters, or any content that follows a term-definition pattern.

Basic Definition Lists¶

Simple Term: This is a simple definition for a term.
Another Term: This is another definition that explains what the term means.

Multiple Definitions¶

Python: A high-level, interpreted programming language.; Known for its simplicity and readability.; Popular in data science, web development, and automation.
JavaScript: A programming language that conforms to the ECMAScript specification.; Primarily used for web development.; Can be used for both frontend and backend development with Node.js.

Definition Lists with Code¶

git commit: Records changes to the repository.; Usage: git commit -m "Your commit message"; Options: - -m: Specify commit message - -a: Stage all modified files - --amend: Modify the last commit
git push: Updates remote repository with local commits.; Usage: git push origin main; Requires appropriate permissions on the remote repository.

Technical Glossary¶

API: Application Programming Interface; A set of protocols and tools for building software applications.; Defines how software components should interact.
REST: Representational State Transfer; An architectural style for distributed hypermedia systems.; Uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
JSON: JavaScript Object Notation; A lightweight data-interchange format.; Easy for humans to read and write.; Easy for machines to parse and generate.
OAuth: Open Authorization; An open standard for access delegation.; Commonly used for token-based authentication.

Configuration Parameters¶

site_name

Type: string

Required: Yes

Description: The name of your documentation project.

Example: site_name: My Documentation

theme

Type: object

Required: No

Description: Theme configuration for your documentation.

Properties: - name: Theme to use (e.g., "material") - palette: Color scheme configuration - features: List of theme features to enable

plugins

Type: list

Required: No

Description: List of MkDocs plugins to enable.

Example:

plugins:
  - search
  - tags
  - blog

Nested Definition Lists¶

Web Technologies

Frontend

HTML: HyperText Markup Language; Provides structure to web content

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets; Controls presentation and layout

JavaScript: Programming language for web interactivity; Runs in browsers and Node.js

Backend

Python: Popular for web frameworks like Django and Flask

Ruby: Known for Ruby on Rails framework

PHP: Widely used for server-side scripting

Footnotes¶

Footnotes allow you to add references and additional information without interrupting the main flow of text.

Basic Footnotes¶

Material for MkDocs is a powerful theme¹ that extends the basic MkDocs functionality with numerous features². It's built on top of Google's Material Design principles³.

Inline Footnotes¶

You can also create inline footnotes^[This is an inline footnote that doesn't require a separate definition.] which are defined directly in the text.

Multiple References¶

The same footnote can be referenced multiple times⁴. This is useful when you want to refer back to the same note⁴ from different parts of your document.

Long Footnotes¶

Sometimes you need longer footnotes with multiple paragraphs⁵.

Footnotes with Links¶

Python's official documentation⁶ is an excellent resource for learning the language. The Material for MkDocs documentation⁷ provides comprehensive guides for all features.

Academic Style Citations¶

Recent studies have shown that documentation quality directly impacts developer productivity⁸. Furthermore, well-structured documentation can reduce onboarding time by up to 50%⁹.

Combined Examples¶

Technical Specification with Footnotes¶

HTTP Methods¹⁰

GET¹¹: Retrieves data from the server; Should be idempotent and safe; Can be cached

POST¹²: Submits data to be processed; Not idempotent; Should not be cached

PUT¹³: Updates or creates a resource; Should be idempotent; Full resource replacement

DELETE¹⁴: Removes a resource; Should be idempotent; Returns 204 No Content on success

Glossary with References¶

Machine Learning Terms

Supervised Learning¹⁵: Learning from labeled training data; Includes classification and regression tasks; Examples: Linear regression, decision trees, neural networks

Unsupervised Learning¹⁶: Learning from unlabeled data; Discovers hidden patterns in data; Examples: Clustering, dimensionality reduction

Reinforcement Learning¹⁷: Learning through interaction with environment; Uses rewards and penalties; Examples: Game playing, robotics, autonomous vehicles

API Documentation Example¶

Authentication Methods¹⁸

API Key: Simple authentication using a unique key¹⁹; Passed via header: X-API-Key: your-key-here; Suitable for server-to-server communication

curl -H "X-API-Key: abc123" https://api.example.com/data

OAuth 2.0: Token-based authentication protocol²⁰; Supports various grant types; Industry standard for user authorization

headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + access_token
}

JWT: JSON Web Tokens for stateless authentication²¹; Self-contained tokens with claims; Signed for integrity verification

Styling Examples¶

Custom Styled Definition Lists¶

Success Response: Status Code: 200 OK; Body: JSON object with requested data; Headers: Content-Type, Cache-Control
Error Response: Status Code: 4xx or 5xx; Body: JSON object with error details; Headers: Content-Type, X-Request-ID

Highlighted Terms¶

Important Configuration Options

debug: Type: Boolean; Default: false; Enables debug mode with verbose logging
cache_enabled: Type: Boolean; Default: true; Controls whether caching is active
max_connections: Type: Integer; Default: 100; Maximum number of concurrent connections

Best Practices¶

For Definition Lists¶

Use for appropriate content: Best for glossaries, parameter documentation, and term-definition pairs
Keep definitions concise: Start with a brief explanation, then add details if needed
Structure consistently: Use the same format throughout your documentation
Consider accessibility: Definition lists have semantic meaning for screen readers

For Footnotes¶

Use sparingly: Too many footnotes can disrupt reading flow
Keep them relevant: Include only information that adds value
Number consistently: Let Markdown handle the numbering automatically
Place definitions nearby: Keep footnote definitions close to their references when possible
Use for citations: Perfect for academic references and sources

Accessibility Notes¶

Definition lists and footnotes have built-in semantic meaning:

Definition lists use <dl>, <dt>, and <dd> HTML elements
Screen readers announce these appropriately
Footnotes use accessible link relationships
Both features work well with keyboard navigation

Additional Resources:

The Material theme is one of the most popular MkDocs themes with over 15,000 GitHub stars. ↩
Features include instant search, syntax highlighting, tabs, admonitions, and much more. ↩
Material Design is a design language developed by Google in 2014. ↩
This footnote is referenced twice in the paragraph above. ↩↩
This is a long footnote with multiple paragraphs.

The second paragraph is indented to maintain the footnote's scope. You can include any valid Markdown here.
- Even lists work
- Inside footnotes
```
# Code blocks too!
def hello():
    return "Hello from footnote!"
```
↩
See the official Python documentation at python.org. ↩
Visit Material for MkDocs for detailed documentation. ↩
Smith, J. et al. (2023). "The Impact of Documentation on Developer Productivity." Journal of Software Engineering, 45(3), 123-145. ↩
Jones, M. & Brown, K. (2022). "Measuring Documentation Effectiveness in Software Teams." In Proceedings of DocConf 2022, pp. 78-92. ↩
As defined in RFC 7231: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1) ↩
GET requests should never modify server state ↩
POST is commonly used for form submissions and API calls ↩
PUT requires the complete resource representation ↩
DELETE operations should be protected with authentication ↩
Supervised learning requires a training dataset with known outputs ↩
Unsupervised learning is useful for exploratory data analysis ↩
Reinforcement learning is inspired by behavioral psychology ↩
Always use HTTPS when transmitting authentication credentials ↩
API keys should be kept secret and rotated regularly ↩
OAuth 2.0 is defined in RFC 6749 ↩
JWTs consist of header, payload, and signature sections ↩