Comment by thomascountz
4 months ago
I like using syntax highlighting when it breaks. For example, if all code below a particular line is a single color, then I probably forgot an end-quote or something. But this has become less uniquely useful due to the broader integration of parser-driven linters (e.g. tree-sitter), which—besides being able to drive highlighting—can explicitly deliver inline hints or parsing errors.
All that said, I'm one who appreciates information density! How about coloring branching code paths/call stacks?
My keyboard has a concept of "layers," which allows each key to map differently depending on the layer. I've seen this used to make a numpad or to have a QWERTY and DVORAK layer. What if highlighting was the same? Instead of competing for priority over the color channels, developers could explicitly swap layers?
Great point! Similarly, I sometimes use Emacs' excellent (and near-unique) electric-indent as a hint of syntax brokenness. "What do you mean this is getting indented at that lev-- oooh"
The downside with broken syntax highlighting (and electric-indent!) is when the editor's parser is insufficient, as is often the case with basic online editors, and breaks with legitimate constructs (Emacs with certain C macros). Then I can't trust the highlighter and also I have less-legible code.
I got so used to electric-indent and the immediate feedback it gives, that for a very long time it prevented me from even considering any other editors.
These days I rely on clangd driven autoindent (which is fast enough to do every line), but I still use emacs because it is so easy to tweak the interaction to clangd to work exactly as I prefer.
> All that said, I'm one who appreciates information density! How about coloring branching code paths/call stacks? > > My keyboard has a concept of "layers," which allows each key to map differently depending on the layer. I've seen this used to make a numpad or to have a QWERTY and DVORAK layer. What if highlighting was the same? Instead of competing for priority over the color channels, developers could explicitly swap layers?
I was thinking about coloring logic /scope blocks as a way to help visualize scope and flow, even if it required static analysis and a simple script it could be useful when I need to debug