Re: syntax coloring - own syntax - my solution

[Dieter Demerre]

Thanks to Nancy Mazur for guiding my first steps that at least lead to a
works-for-me-sollution.

On Tue, 26 Sep 2000, Dieter Demerre wrote:

> I've defined two small syntax' for specific files.
> one of them has to color @-following text on a line as comment (different
> of other text).  quoted text (strings) should NOT be colored.
> the other has the same specs except that comment is /* - */ delimited and
> can be multi-lined.
> 
> Now I can disable the quote-coloring for the @-syntax, but this does not
> work for the /* - */ syntax.  syntax coloring doesn't work there anymore.
> 
> Does anymody has any suggestion on this part ?
> 
> - --mode_croll.el---" works fine !! " -------------------------
> (if ebp-croll-mode-syntax-table
>     ()
>   (let ((table (make-syntax-table)))
>     (modify-syntax-entry ?@ "< a" table)
>     (modify-syntax-entry ?\n "> a" table)
>     (modify-syntax-entry ?\" " " table)
>     (setq ebp-croll-mode-syntax-table table)
>   )
> )
> - --------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> above extract works fine, but now in the following, modifying ?\" to " "
> will cause syntax-coloring to be disabled, not mentioning it will cause
> strings to be colored as strings again, which I don't want
> 
> - --mode_start.el---" won't work like I want it to "----------
> (if ebp-star-mode-syntax-table
>     ()
>   (let ((table (make-syntax-table)))
>     (modify-syntax-entry ?/ "  14" table)
>     (modify-syntax-entry ?* "  23" table)
>     (modify-syntax-entry ?\" " " table)
>     (setq ebp-star-mode-syntax-table table)
>   )
> )
> - --------------------------------------------------------------

For other users that might encounter similar problems, here my findings:

1. to enable syntax highlighting, use 
(setq font-lock-mode 1)

2. to automatically load a certain syntax for certain files, use
(setq auto-mode-alist 
  (cons '("files" . mysyntax-mode) auto-mode-alist)
)
where "files" is a emacs regexp matching the files to open in
mysyntax-mode like ".+\.\\(c\\|C\\)" matches all .c and .C files (at least
one character in front of the .c or .C

3. to define a mode, use
(defvar mymode-map nil)

if mymode-syntax-table
    (
     )
  (let ((table (make-syntax-table)))
    ; /* - */ comment
    (modify-syntax-entry ?/ "  14" table)
    (modify-syntax-entry ?* "  23" table)
    ; ? - ? strings
    (modify-syntax-entry ?\? "\"" table) 
    ; NO " - " strings.  " are like space
    (modify-syntax-entry ?\" " " table) 
    (setq mymode-syntax-table table)
  )
)

(defun mysyntax-mode ()
  (kill-all-local-variables)
  (use-local-map mymode-map)
  (setq major-mode 'mysyntax-mode)
  (setq mode-name "MYSYN")
  (set-syntax-table mymode-syntax-table)
  (mymode-variables)
  (run-hooks 'mymode-hook)
)

Trying to cancel quoted-text colouring within double-character indicated
comment-syntax apparently is not that easy (see cry for help in the
included message above).  There seems to be a need for at least one
character that indicates string-borders.  If that character is NOT
defined, defining \" as a space or punctuation character will disable
syntax-coloring.  defining another character to take that role (like I did
with \? in the above example-code), will enable the coloring, disable the
""-in-between-coloring.  But of course now you have
??-in-between-coloring.  My sollution now works since my syntax does not
accept '?'.

Hope this code helps people with similar problems.

It's quite possible there are mistakes, incorrect assumptions,
too-much-code.  I'm all open for fixes or comment, but above all: It works
for me...

greets

******* Groetjes vanwege ***** Greetings From *******
Dieter Demerre - http://www.angelfire.com/de/ddemerre
  ddemerre@acm.org - ext.dieter.demerre@siemens.be

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