Syntax highlighting in Perl

[Andy Wardley]

Andy Armstrong wrote:
 > What would be really nice would be an implementation of the TextMate
 > syntax highlighter that handles nested languages gracefully.

I <heart/> TextMate.  This is the feature that really sets it apart.

 > It makes
 > PHP slightly less unbearable when you're working with a file that
 > contains HTML, PHP /and/ Javascript and the editor handles them all
 > correctly.

Ditto for TT. I've set mine up to recognise TT directives in HTML, CSS, JS,
Apache config files, and the various other document types I often find myself
templating. The context-dependent features like syntax highlighting, command
completion and so on, make the whole editing process almost bearable.

Furthermore, it took less than an hour to go from wondering "How do I add TT
support to TextMate?" to releasing the TT bundle. If you know how to write a
Perl regex, then you can write a TextMate grammar extension.

There's still a few niggling things that it doesn't do as well as Emacs: no
async shell commands, sub-optimal reformatting/flowing and a reliance on the
mouse for certain operations, to name a few off the top of my head. But it's
being actively developed and is improving all the time. Its author, Allan
Odgaard, is clearly one smart cookie.

Alas, it's not Open Source and it's only available for Macs. But it's worth
buying a Mac for.

A

Just Another TextMate Fan-Boy