https://groups.google.com/g/golang-nuts/c/hJHCAaiL0so/m/kG3B...
>Syntax highlighting is juvenile. When I was a child, I was taught arithmetic using colored rods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisenaire_rods). I grew up and today I use monochromatic numerals.
The language creator really hates it (and most modern editor tooling).
Ultimately he's fine with _some_ syntax highlighting, especially the kind that uses whitespace to highlight parts of the syntax, as evidenced by the existence of `go fmt`. He just hasn't taken into consideration that colour is just one typographical tool among many, including the use of whitespace, as well as italics, bold, size, typeface, etc. Switching inks has been somewhat tedious in printing, but these days most publications seem to support it just fine, and obsessive note-takers also use various pens and highlighters in different colours. For the rest of us it's mostly about the toil of switching pens that's holding us back I think, rather than some real preference for monochromatic notes. We generally have eyes that can discern colours and brains that can process that signal in parallel to other stuff, which along with our innate selective attention means we can filter out the background or have our attention drawn to stuff like red lights. Intentionally not using that built-in hardware feature is ultimately just making stuff harder on oneself with no particular benefit.
There's also some google groups quote from him about iterators which is also pretty funny given how modern Go uses them, but I don't have the link at hand. Several google groups quotes from the original language creators (not just Pike) tell an unfortunate story about how the language came to be the way it is.
Might release an extension just to spite him
Paraphrasing, but if you need syntax highlighting to comprehend code, maybe your code is too complicated.
Not choosing to use syntax highlighting is just wrong on every level. It has exactly zero drawbacks.
But this is completely relevant to the person reading. It may be for you easier with highlighting but someone else it may not be
Syntax highlighting studies usually don't report on whether some subjects perform worse with syntax highlighting - usually only that they as a group perform better. But even with that evidence, it should be obvious that syntax highlighting should be either on for everyone, or on initially and off as an option for the rare individual.
on a more serious note: somehow nature choose to let us see colors, and this sense has been immensely useful to our existence and pleasure. maybe go could learn a thing or two from nature?