Google Docs

It’s easy to start working with a spreadsheet, but it also takes time to master your skills to use all the powerful features it provides. When you start feeling comfortable with formulas, functions, pivot tables, etc., there is still one more level which allows you to achieve even more—custom extensions. In this article, I’m going to focus on extending Google Spreadsheets with a Google Apps Script that validates European Union VAT IDs via API calls.

Face it, you're a software engineer, not a graphic designer. When you need to write a manual, technical document, or report, you just want to write it and be done with it. Especially for you as a software engineer -- who is not put off by needing to learn and use some basic syntax conventions -- Markdown can be the path of least resistance between what you want to write and getting it written.