The Real Problem with Syntax Highlighting (and How to Make It Work)

Nikita Prokopov, the creator of the fantastic Fira Code typeface, has published a very interesting look at how “everyone is getting syntax highlighting wrong”

Most color themes have a unique bright color for literally everything: one for variables, another for language keywords, constants, punctuation, functions, classes, calls, comments, etc.

Sometimes it gets so bad one can’t see the base text color: everything is highlighted.

There’s a bunch of screenshots in the article that he uses to make his argument, but there are some great counterpoints being raised on Hacker News as well.