zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting

"unknown-token" is overloaded

Open

#695 opened on Mar 15, 2020

View on GitHub
 (3 comments) (1 reaction) (0 assignees)Shell (1,371 forks)batch import
FeatureIdeaImprovementTaskcomponent:testsgood first issue

Repository metrics

Stars
 (22,617 stars)
PR merge metrics
 (No merged PRs in 30d)

Description

Highlighting all errors the same way makes sense from a UI perspective (cough #691 cough), but it makes the tests weaker: when a test checks that an alias is highlighted as unknown-token, it can't easily check whether that's due to a syntax error (as in alias x='() ]]') or due to, say, a command word not being an existing alias/function/etc. (as fixed in 9931990b92a276c6ec69cdf6af9f9f3b65603cd1).

How about adding some new styles for more specific errors — e.g., unknown-token-not-a-command-name, unknown-token-parse-error, etc — that will be highlighted the same way by default, but will make the tests more specific?

Contributor guide

Research direction
Examine the existing test suite for syntax highlighting errors, particularly tests using 'unknown token'. Identify where specific error types like parse errors or command not found are tested. Propose new token types (e.g., 'unknown token parse error') and update the highlighter and tests accordingly.
Tech stack
shell
Domain
clideveloper experience
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
Half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GitZsh basics
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70