Converting Markdown to PDF with LaTeX support in Java

convert-markdown-to-pdf-with-latext-support.java

import com.github.davidmoten.pandoc.Pandoc;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

/**
 * Converts academic Markdown (with LaTeX math and citations) to PDF using Pandoc.
 * Requires: 
 * - Pandoc installed (v2.11+)
 * - LaTeX distribution (e.g., TeX Live/MiKTeX)
 * - Bibliography file (references.bib)
 */
public class AcademicPdfConverter {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // 1. Initialize Pandoc instance
        Pandoc pandoc = Pandoc.create();
        
        // 2. Define input/output files
        String markdownFile = "paper.md";
        String pdfOutput = "output.pdf";
        String bibliography = "references.bib";
        
        try {
            // 3. Execute conversion with academic formatting flags
            pandoc.from("markdown")
                  .to("pdf")
                  .option("--pdf-engine=xelatex")  // LaTeX engine for Unicode/math support
                  .option("--citeproc")           // Process citations
                  .option("--bibliography=" + bibliography)
                  .option("--csl=apa.csl")        // APA citation style (optional)
                  .standalone()                   // Adds LaTeX header/footer
                  .execute(Files.newInputStream(Paths.get(markdownFile)),
                           Files.newOutputStream(Paths.get(pdfOutput)));
            
            System.out.println("PDF generated successfully: " + pdfOutput);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.err.println("Conversion failed: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}