D2 is really that stable as it is claimed to be?

[Michel Fortin]

On 2013-09-22 03:32:26 +0000, Jonathan M Davis <jmdavisProg at gmx.com> said:

> On Saturday, September 21, 2013 23:17:23 Michel Fortin wrote:
>> Column values are of interest in an IDE because it can pinpoint the
>> error more precisely. The IDE can show exactly where the error is (for
>> instance with a dotted red underline), often allowing you to fix the
>> error without even reading the error message (especially when it's a
>> typo). With a background-compilation-as-you-type system you know almost
>> immediately when you make an error, and you know where it is.
> 
> A lexer being used by an IDE definitely needs the column number, but the normal
> compiler doesn't.

I was referring to how the IDE can show the compiler's error messages 
better when the column number is available, not to how it does syntax 
highlighting. Xcode uses this a lot, and clang's error log provides 
full character ranges for errors, not just a column number, making the 
visualization of errors much better and pleasant to work with.

But indeed, no one *needs* that. Like everything else, it's just a convenience.

I don't think it should be a priority, but rejecting the idea outright 
is shortsighted in my opinion.

-- 
Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.ca
http://michelf.ca