I’ve tried many syntax coloring schemes and always end up back with (almost) none. I use a vim theme that shows black on white except for grayed out comments.<p>I’ve turned off most colors in my shell and tmux too. I do have production servers show the command prompt in red, that’s about it.<p>I don’t know of any way to measure what programmers call “productivity” but subjectively I don’t think syntax coloring does anything for mine. Code usually has enough cues without needing to add color to it.<p>I cut my programming teeth on dumb terminals like the VT-100, no color, do that may have prepared or biased me early on.
I get the argument that syntax highlighting can be distracting, but I think the real issue is bad highlighting. Overly bright themes, too many colors, or inconsistent styles can make code harder to read. But when done right—like with semantic highlighting that differentiates mutable vs immutable variables—it can actually enhance understanding rather than clutter the screen. Maybe the problem isn’t highlighting itself, but how it’s typically implemented?
I like rainbow brackets as well.<p>But yes, I’d like to see some semantic highlighting.<p>Variable declarations in bold.<p>Mutating function calls / operators in a different colour.<p>Colour variables according to their type or scope.<p>Can that function call throw? It should look different.