On Saturday, September 21, 2013 23:54:26 Michel Fortin wrote: > 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.
I don't think that it's at all worth it for compiling with the compiler on the command line. The situation changes somewhat when an IDE gets involved. - Jonathan M Davis
