Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs)

pcbeard@ucdavis.edu (Patrick C. Beard)
Tue, 6 Oct 1992 17:59:26 GMT

          From comp.compilers

Related articles
[12 earlier articles]
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) delacour@parc.xerox.com (Vincent Delacour) (1992-09-24)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) macrakis@osf.org (1992-09-25)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) de19@umail.umd.edu (1992-10-04)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) Bruce.Hoult@bbs.actrix.gen.nz (1992-10-05)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) tmb@arolla.idiap.ch (1992-10-06)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) liblit@cs.psu.edu (1992-10-06)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) pcbeard@ucdavis.edu (1992-10-06)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) kendall@centerline.com (1992-10-07)
Re: Syntax of Comments (was: language design tradeoffs) drw@euclid.mit.edu (1992-10-07)
| List of all articles for this month |

Newsgroups: comp.compilers,comp.human-factors
From: pcbeard@ucdavis.edu (Patrick C. Beard)
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of California, Davis
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 17:59:26 GMT
Followup-To: comp.compilers
References: 92-09-048 92-10-010
Keywords: design

de19@umail.umd.edu (Dana S Emery) writes:
>I'm surprised no one has suggested coloration or styling to reflect
>semantics.


People have. Borland C++ on the PC can show different syntactic elements
in different visual styles under Windows. Object Master on the Macintosh
(an integrated editor/browser development environment) does as well.


Everytime I've ever attempted to come up with a design for a color scheme
for the keywords, comments, etc. it always looks ugly. I choose really
muted colors and similar fonts. Nothing beats plain text.


Now, when I want something to really stand out, like a syntax error, or
questionable use, a nice bright red color is good. I think styles that
stand out are good for transient events. When I read code, every line is
of equal importance to me, comments and statements. I agree with the
moderator that this probably won't be standardizable in general, but
perhaps in the areas I mention.


// Patrick C. Beard
// Department of Computer Science, U. C. Davis
// pcbeard@ucdavis.edu
--


Post a followup to this message

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.