I have been creating a parser that can create syntax highlighted html documents or fragments based on jEdit mode files. jEdit has an honourable list of modes. There is also some explanation of how the syntax package interprets these mode files. That documentation is only partial though and the separate syntax package is unmaintained.

That is why I decided to do my own parser but reuse the ideas and mode files from jedit for a generic syntax highlight component. But I noticed that the modes and the regex:es used would need more of specification work so that maybe in the future also other editors could parse those mode files and finally there would emerge some sort of standard in specifying syntax highlight modes.

Of course this specification would do good to jEdit's syntax package and it's corresponding documentation.

In the course of the following weeks my intention is to start that process as replies to this topic and if it starts catching some interest then maybe these ideas will be implemented.

My intention is not to add more features to the syntax highlighting system but rather to define it more precisely and also increase it's simplicity and elegance.

All regular expressions in jEdit are using syntax very different from the syntax
JDK uses. Why not start using the JDK's regex package?

Slava,
Using the ProScroll applet, how can I make text run continuously?
Nbaird@netzero.com