The existing language files seemed overly complex, lacked readable comments and proper documentation, and occasionally just didn't work. Worst of all, there was no clear maintainer, and updates were non-existent. I'm hoping to change that by starting from scratch. Initially each syntax is bound to have bugs and missing pieces, since I'm sure I only regularly use a small subset of each languages' features. Over time, and with some community support, these will develop into language definitions that are more comprehensible, effective, and complete.
In general, I will follow the naming conventions specified in the Textmate [language grammars][1] documentation. This is sensible since it means existing themes will immediately support the new language definitions. Unfortunately, the specification is vague and in some instances incomplete; where necessary, I will use my best judgment. The goal is to be readable, complete, and flexible. [1]: http://manual.macromates.com/en/language_grammars "Textmate language grammars"
Available languages: Perl
Planned languages: HTML, XML, CSS, Javascript, JSON, Bash (Shellscript), Diff, Python, SQL
- The files should be written in XML Plist format. The extra regex-escaping required in other markup formats (eg, JSON) goes against the objectives of clarity and readability (though the syntax is more concise).
- When defining new patterns,
<dict>keys should always appear in the following order:- name or contentName
- match
- begin
- end
- beginCaptures
- endCaptures
- applyEndPatternLast
- patterns
- Use tabs, not spaces
- Named scopes for all special variables under
variable.other.special - Distinct scopes for scalars, arrays, hashes under
variable.other.{scalar,array,hash}.perl - Proper handing of complex regular expressions (in progress)
- Complete support for syntax as defined on 2012-02-07.