On 2013-09-22 03:32:26 +0000, Jonathan M Davis <[email protected]> said:
On Saturday, September 21, 2013 23:17:23 Michel Fortin wrote:
Column values are of interest in an IDE because it can pinpoint the
error more precisely. The IDE can show exactly where the error is (for
instance with a dotted red underline), often allowing you to fix the
error without even reading the error message (especially when it's a
typo). With a background-compilation-as-you-type system you know almost
immediately when you make an error, and you know where it is.
A lexer being used by an IDE definitely needs the column number, but the normal
compiler doesn't.
I was referring to how the IDE can show the compiler's error messages
better when the column number is available, not to how it does syntax
highlighting. Xcode uses this a lot, and clang's error log provides
full character ranges for errors, not just a column number, making the
visualization of errors much better and pleasant to work with.
But indeed, no one *needs* that. Like everything else, it's just a convenience.
I don't think it should be a priority, but rejecting the idea outright
is shortsighted in my opinion.
--
Michel Fortin
[email protected]
http://michelf.ca
