backlighting

[Tony Balinski]

Quoting kuzn at htsc.mephi.ru:

> >> The uncommented code is well compiled and stable works.
> >> Is there a reason to neglect this code?
> >
> > The code works; in fact I use it from time to time. The interface,
> though,
> > is very unfriendly. What's really needed is something that allows you to
> > modify the backlighting a bit at a time, eg
> >   set_backlighting("red", "\x01-\x1f")
> >   set_backlighting("lightgrey", "\t")
> >   set_backlighting("white", "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz")
> > and
> >   col = get_backlighting(c)["rgb"]
> > say. This can be done by manipulating the backlighting resource for the
> > text widget.
> >
> > I wrote this stuff ages ago, around the same time as the initial rangeset
> > stuff. I use it daily to check for tabs and trailing spaces in my files.
> > My own patched build turns all that stuff on again, then adds some more
> > (foreground "backlighting", taking precedence over SH, aimed at providing
> > visible spaces one day). But it can certainly be improved.
> >
> > Tony
>
> Hi,
>
> unfriendly interface is better then nothing. I think, this code
> can (must?) be uncommented. Tony, if you have improved interface,
> please, can you add it to code?
>
> Seems, the main problem of the NEdit developing is that no developers
> use it. (That is problem of users, not developers or programmers).
> "Strongly-patched, self-made editor" having many nice features
> strongly differs from both NEdit-5.5  and NEdit-CVS.
> That is practical point.
>
> Tony, I am not hurl reproaches at you or other developers.
> Thanks all developers for the best editor.
>
> Alexey

No, I never did add those functions - I wrote macros that did the work
of analysing the current string, then of building a new one. That's
what I use when I manipulate backlighting. But the macro code is hard.
The suggestions I made above would make it easier for new macro
programmers to "take control".

As for your comments, indeed the only people who use the patches tend
to be the nedit developers themselves, and each has their own set. It seems
that Bert Wesarg is trying to pick up the best of what's available. This
would be (I suggest) the thrust of NEdit 5.7 (once we get past the 5.6
release!) That being said, there are MANY reasons why I couldn't go back
to the "standard edition" now - I'd just be so frustrated! Possibly the
most important reason would be multiple selection on the list_dialog() (I
have a version now which uses my own "named arguments" convention, though
I haven't made a patch for it yet...) So I imagine people just coming to
NEdit thinking "brilliant editor, but if it could only..." and moving away
because that feature only exists as a patch, albeit one a few years old!

I've got to a point where maintaining my own patches has become about 80%
of my NEdit work. I would dearly like to check some of this in, if only
to make my life easier.

Tony