I developed KeenWrite[0] with similar ideas to mdbook: typeset Markdown documents into PDF. Technically, this happens in three stages. First, the Markdown is converted to XHTML. Second, the XHTML is converted to TeX commands. Third, the ConTeXt typesetting system produces a PDF file. Both the GUI and CLI can export to PDF.[1] (This means that XHTML also can be converted to PDF.)
Like mdbook, the themes are isolated. Instead of CSS, KeenWrite themes are written in ConTeXt. There are several example starter themes.[2] A "thesis" theme would be a nice addition, but there's a problem.
Markdown lacks a standard for cross-references and citations. An open KeenWrite issue animates a possible UX solution.[3] The topic of references/citations has been discussed on CommonMark[4] without much movement. Parsing cross-references and citations would likely benefit all flexmark-java[5] integrations. KeenWrite uses flexmark-java, but I'm otherwise unaffiliated. If anyone is interested in helping, reach out (see profile).
Like mdbook, the themes are isolated. Instead of CSS, KeenWrite themes are written in ConTeXt. There are several example starter themes.[2] A "thesis" theme would be a nice addition, but there's a problem.
Markdown lacks a standard for cross-references and citations. An open KeenWrite issue animates a possible UX solution.[3] The topic of references/citations has been discussed on CommonMark[4] without much movement. Parsing cross-references and citations would likely benefit all flexmark-java[5] integrations. KeenWrite uses flexmark-java, but I'm otherwise unaffiliated. If anyone is interested in helping, reach out (see profile).
[0]: https://keenwrite.com/
[1]: https://gitlab.com/DaveJarvis/KeenWrite/-/blob/main/docs/cmd...
[2]: https://gitlab.com/DaveJarvis/keenwrite-themes/
[3]: https://gitlab.com/DaveJarvis/KeenWrite/-/issues/145
[4]: https://talk.commonmark.org/t/cross-references-and-citations...
[5]: https://github.com/vsch/flexmark-java