I would argue that good code reads in a linear manner - if it doesn’t it is a problem with the programmer or the language syntax/grammer.
> On Nov 24, 2018, at 3:28 PM, Dan Kortschak <dan.kortsc...@adelaide.edu.au> > wrote: > > Thanks for bumping this. I had intended to respond. > > There is a fundamental difference between reading English prose (or > whatever your native language is) and code; prose is read as a > continuous stream while code is often read in a random access manner. > An interesting point here is that natural language writing like > reference manuals actually do often include things similar to syntax > highlighting where key points are bolded, underlined or italicised in a > manner broader than is common in prose. > > The other point here is that syntax highlighting is not restricted to > altering the colours of parts of speech. For example, I use semantic > highlighting (what I jokingly call Hawaiian style) that colours labels > based on their hash (my theme also renders keywords in an intensity > diminished form since they are largely punctuation in my reading). This > helps me recognise patterns in code much more quickly. > > Is it a crutch, sure, but until you're editing with butterfly wing > flaps, we're all using crutches. > > Dan > > On Sat, 2018-11-24 at 07:09 -0600, Sam Whited wrote: >> On Fri, Nov 23, 2018, at 17:06, Jay Ts wrote: >>> >>> Nowadays I use vim >>> because there are a few nice things about it that aren't in vi. At >>> least, >>> vim is ok after you turn off syntax highlighting and all the other >>> newbie >>> crutches. :-P Seriously, how many people can't read or write in >>> English (or >>> their native language) if the verbs, nouns, and prepositions are >>> the same >>> color? I don't get it. >> Okay, I'll bite: Anyone can still read code without syntax >> highlighting, it doesn't provide any information that's not already >> there. It just provides another dimension of visibility to that >> information so that you can make certain judgements quicker. If the >> compiler gives you a worthless error message and you don't know why >> something isn't working, you might be able to see at a glance that a >> multi-line string isn't terminated when everything is in string color >> instead of scrolling up several hundred lines wondering why it said >> the file ended early. It's not a crutch, as it probably doesn't help >> you if you can't walk already. >> >> —Sam >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "golang-nuts" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to golang-nuts+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "golang-nuts" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to golang-nuts+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
