Lawrence Crowl <cr...@google.com> writes: > On 4/12/12, Manuel López-Ibáñez <lopeziba...@gmail.com> wrote: >> So given your ideal implementation, if the user-visible result >> was exactly like the one in Clang, will you be happy with any of >> the three things: ranges, color and fix-it hints? > > There are many issues with color. Does your reader have any > color deficiencies? Does your software address them? Does the > system software render colors well? Is color contrast sufficient? > Is greyscale contrast sufficient? Color is low on my list of > desirables.
It would be terrible if an error message could not be understood without color. But nobody is suggesting that. The question at hand is whether color can be used to enhance an error message that can be understood without color. For example, whether color can be added to current error messages without any other changes. I personally think it would be an excellent idea. Even clang's C++ error messages can be long. A simple use of color is an excellent way to draw the eye to the more important parts of the message. If the color is not available, then it doesn't help, but the error message can be understood without it. Ian
