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Comment by jamesaguilar | Hacker News Reader

I have wondered for some time whether syntax highlighting really adds anything. Intuitively, it ought to . . . but has anyone ever tested this rigorously? I'll give it some anecdotal testing tomorrow and see if I regret it.

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See this code:

  <%= render partial: 'user, collection: @user.followed_users  %>

I see (and write) errors like this all the time. Turning :syntax on saves me a browser refresh/compile cycle/spec run every time. Not sure if I'd need a rigorous test to tell me how helpful it is :)

Ah, my editor has separate error highlighting, so I don't have to forgo that immediate feedback to turn off syntax highlighting.

at least for me, it makes code a lot more pleasant to read. there is the instant feedback for minor syntax errors, of course, but even apart from that the pleasantness aspect is more than enough to justify it.

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