zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting

SHORT_LOOPS syntax "while {....} {....}" not recognized

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#880 opened on Jun 23, 2022

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Buggood first issuesyntax:command-word

Description

It is possible to write a loop using a different syntax like:

while (( i++ < 10 )) { echo i is $i }

Issue:

The syntax highlighting fails on the { echo i is $i } part. Has this been a conscious decision made in the past? If not is it possible to fix this?

Contributor guide

Tech stack
shell
Domain
developer experience
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
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.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
zshregexsyntax highlighting plugin internals
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
35
Research direction
Investigate the zsh syntax highlighting codebase, specifically the highlighters for builtin commands. The issue reports that 'while {....} {....}' syntax is not recognized. Look at the 'main' highlighter or the 'zle' highlighter for case patterns. Review comments in the issue for suggested approaches, such as modifying regex patterns to match the short loop syntax. No linked PRs, so propose to compare with how 'if' or 'for' short syntax is handled.