6 ms·

Not OP but I don't use syntax highlighting, so italics makes the comments stand out a little for when I'm quickly scanning code.

by smcn 4y ago

thfuran 4y ago
Why do you not use syntax highlighting?
- smcn 4y ago
  I find it too busy, truth be told. Colours pull my eyes in too many directions when I'm trying to read code. It started because I'm picky when it comes to colour schemes. I'd find one or two things that annoy me and I don't personally have the imagination to fix it, so I'll try to find something else. Or I would get bored of a particular colour scheme and go hunting for something new and fresh. Removing it took a bit to get used to but now I can't stand going back. I don't personally subscribe to the Rob Pike idea that syntax highlighting is for babies or whatever, to each their own.
  - CharlesW 4y ago
    I’ve always thought of any automatic stylistic change as “stylistic highlighting”, so now I’m curious if that’s a rare opinion. I’m with you that colors can easily start to impede readability. I’m a fan of subtle, judicious color use, so I’ll often start with a palette but knock back the colors from there. What typeface(s) do you like for its italics?
    - smcn 4y ago
      Right now I'm trying out JetBrains mono. I don't really require much from italics but at least some visual distinction. So far I'm enjoying it. I used Victor Mono for a bit there and I'm still unsure if I like cursive italics or not. They're interesting and fun, but sometimes I think they're a bit too out there, if that makes sense? My go-to is usually Ubuntu Mono. That might be my favourite font.
      - kcartlidge 4y ago
        Depending upon your motivation for monospace, the iA Writer site offers my current favourite: IA Writer Duospace. If you want monospace for the crisp, clear, draft-style, clutter-free look when writing code (or similar) then it's excellent. If you absolutely must have every character being exactly the same width then less so as the main difference is that it is monospace for everything except 'm', 'M', 'w', and 'W' which are each 1.5 wide (so it takes two to bring things back in alignment). In practice that is often less of an issue than it seems, and the benefit in readability/clarity/looks (literal mono for those characters makes them compressed) makes it worth giving it a try, even if you only end up using it for Markdown files etc. They have a web page explaining it (alongside a download): https://ia.net/topics/in-search-of-the-perfect-writing-font https://ia.net/topics/in-search-of-the-perfect-writing-font
        smcn 4y ago
        Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out!
        smcn 4y ago
        Hey, just wanted to come back and say thank you! Really loving this font!
        kcartlidge 4y ago
        No worries; appreciate the update.
onetom 4y ago
i would also consider the use of font styles syntax highlighting... I saw such a thing in Turbo Pascal 5.5 for the first time and the only thing they did was the use of bolding for language keywords, like in this book: http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/borland/turbo_pascal/Turbo_Pascal_Version_5.5_Object-Oriented_Programming_Guide_1989.pdf http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/borland/tur... then in Delphi 1.0: https://winworldpc.com/screenshot/c38bc3b1-c3a1-2a2d-6211-c3a4e284a2ef https://winworldpc.com/screenshot/c38bc3b1-c3a1-2a2d-6211-c3... and in upcoming versions, it started to use italic for comments, but still no colors, yet we called it syntax highlighting. but my memories might be inaccurate :)
- smcn 4y ago
  No, I think that's definitely fair and I absolutely agree. I just used syntax highlighting in place of colour schemes as I feel that's how most people would interpret it these days.

Not OP but I don't use syntax highlighting, so italics makes the comments stand out a little for when I'm quickly scanning code.

by smcn 4y ago

Not OP but I don't use syntax highlighting, so italics makes the comments stand out a little for when I'm quickly scanning code.

thfuran 4y ago

Why do you not use syntax highlighting?

smcn 4y ago
I find it too busy, truth be told. Colours pull my eyes in too many directions when I'm trying to read code. It started because I'm picky when it comes to colour schemes. I'd find one or two things that annoy me and I don't personally have the imagination to fix it, so I'll try to find something else. Or I would get bored of a particular colour scheme and go hunting for something new and fresh. Removing it took a bit to get used to but now I can't stand going back. I don't personally subscribe to the Rob Pike idea that syntax highlighting is for babies or whatever, to each their own.
- CharlesW 4y ago
  I’ve always thought of any automatic stylistic change as “stylistic highlighting”, so now I’m curious if that’s a rare opinion. I’m with you that colors can easily start to impede readability. I’m a fan of subtle, judicious color use, so I’ll often start with a palette but knock back the colors from there. What typeface(s) do you like for its italics?
  - smcn 4y ago
    Right now I'm trying out JetBrains mono. I don't really require much from italics but at least some visual distinction. So far I'm enjoying it. I used Victor Mono for a bit there and I'm still unsure if I like cursive italics or not. They're interesting and fun, but sometimes I think they're a bit too out there, if that makes sense? My go-to is usually Ubuntu Mono. That might be my favourite font.
    - kcartlidge 4y ago
      Depending upon your motivation for monospace, the iA Writer site offers my current favourite: IA Writer Duospace. If you want monospace for the crisp, clear, draft-style, clutter-free look when writing code (or similar) then it's excellent. If you absolutely must have every character being exactly the same width then less so as the main difference is that it is monospace for everything except 'm', 'M', 'w', and 'W' which are each 1.5 wide (so it takes two to bring things back in alignment). In practice that is often less of an issue than it seems, and the benefit in readability/clarity/looks (literal mono for those characters makes them compressed) makes it worth giving it a try, even if you only end up using it for Markdown files etc. They have a web page explaining it (alongside a download): https://ia.net/topics/in-search-of-the-perfect-writing-font https://ia.net/topics/in-search-of-the-perfect-writing-font
      - smcn 4y ago
        Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out!
      - smcn 4y ago
        Hey, just wanted to come back and say thank you! Really loving this font!
        kcartlidge 4y ago
        No worries; appreciate the update.

onetom 4y ago

i would also consider the use of font styles syntax highlighting... I saw such a thing in Turbo Pascal 5.5 for the first time and the only thing they did was the use of bolding for language keywords, like in this book: http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/borland/turbo_pascal/Turbo_Pascal_Version_5.5_Object-Oriented_Programming_Guide_1989.pdf http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/borland/tur... then in Delphi 1.0: https://winworldpc.com/screenshot/c38bc3b1-c3a1-2a2d-6211-c3a4e284a2ef https://winworldpc.com/screenshot/c38bc3b1-c3a1-2a2d-6211-c3... and in upcoming versions, it started to use italic for comments, but still no colors, yet we called it syntax highlighting. but my memories might be inaccurate :)

smcn 4y ago
No, I think that's definitely fair and I absolutely agree. I just used syntax highlighting in place of colour schemes as I feel that's how most people would interpret it these days.