How can a code editor effectively hint at code nesting level - without using indentation?

Posted by pgfearo on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by pgfearo
Published on 2011-06-25T20:51:54Z Indexed on 2011/06/26 0:29 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 702

Filed under:

code

|

indentation

|

editor

I'm writing an XML text editor that provides 2 view options for the same XML text, one indented (virtually), the other left-justified. The motivation for the left-justified view is to help users 'see' the whitespace characters they're using for indentation of plain-text or XPath code without interference from indentation that is an automated side-effect of the XML context.

I want to provide visual clues (in the non-editable part of the editor) for the left-justified mode that will help the user, but without getting too elaborate.

I tried just using connecting lines, but that seemed too busy. The best I've come up with so far is shown in a mocked up screenshot of the editor below, but I'm seeking better/simpler alternatives (that don't require too much code).

code editor nesting level indication

[Edit]

Taking the heatmap idea (from: @jimp) I get something like this:

enter image description here

or even these alternates:

enter image description here

enter image description here

© Programmers or respective owner

Related posts about code

Soapi.CS : A fully relational fluent .NET Stack Exchange API client library

as seen on Stackapps - Search for 'Stackapps'
Soapi.CS for .Net / Silverlight / Windows Phone 7 / Mono as easy as breathing...: var context = new ApiContext(apiKey).Initialize(false); Question thisPost = context.Official .StackApps .Questions.ById(386) .WithComments(true) .First(); Console.WriteLine(thisPost.Title); thisPost … >>> More
Super Joybox 5 HID 0925:8884 not recognized as joystick in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
Problem: When using the "Super JoyBox 5" 4 port playstation 2 to USB adapter, the device is not recognized as a joystick. there is no js0 created, but instead another input eventX and mouseX are created in /dev/input. When using the directional buttons (up down left right) on a Playstation 1 controller… >>> More
Code Golf: Code 39 Bar Code

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
The challenge The shortest code by character count to draw an ASCII representation of a Code 39 bar code. Wikipedia article about Code 39: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_39 Input The input will be a string of legal characters for Code 39 bar codes. This means 43 characters are valid: 0-9… >>> More
VS 2012 Code Review – Before Check In OR After Check In?

as seen on Geeks with Blogs - Search for 'Geeks with Blogs'
“Is Code Review Important and Effective?” There is a consensus across the industry that code review is an effective and practical way to collar code inconsistency and possible defects early in the software development life cycle. Among others some of the advantages of code reviews are, Bugs… >>> More
Colorize code inside <code></code>

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm looking for a open source PHP script to colorize the code inside <code></code> or [code][/code] tags. Thanks >>> More

Related posts about indentation

Indentation (and wrap-indentation) of debug strings output by printf()/fprintf() in C program

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm using a debug output using printf() in my functions, but the output goes to the console starting at the 1st columns. I'd like to distinguish the nesting level of functions by indenting their output strings each time I dive into the function (it's implemented easily having a static int indentlevel;… >>> More
How can a code editor effectively hint at code nesting level - without using indentation?

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I've written an XML text editor that provides 2 view options for the same XML text, one indented (virtually), the other left-justified. The motivation for the left-justified view is to help users 'see' the whitespace characters they're using for indentation of plain-text or XPath code without interference… >>> More
Latex "/indent" creating paragraph indentation / tabbing package requirement?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
The Latex code provided below shows the usage of the command "\indent" as it appears in the document,but it does not produce the desired indentation within the document. Is there a specific package associated with the command "\indent" or "\="? I am asking for a step by step method of producing an… >>> More
emacs indentation problem

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm really trying to switch to emacs, but learning to setup the environment is a real pain. Everybody says it's worth it, so I just continue. I want my c code to be implemented that way: if(asdf) { asdr = 1; } Depending on the current standard (I know, don't get me started), could be: if(asdf)… >>> More
indentation preference and personality

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
This question is similar in spirit to : http://stackoverflow.com/questions/492178/links-between-personality-types-and-language-technology-preferences But it is based specifically on indentation (spaces vs tabs and the number of spaces). The reason I am asking here instead of searching is because… >>> More