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Context: I am a developer as well as a writer.
Love color coding in a code editor. Don't need it in the printout.
But let me tell you the first thing I do when I get a new code editor.
I go into the settings, and customize the coloring to the way that I
like things. For example, the default color for method names might be
green, and I might set it to red. And so on for the 15 or so items that
I can set in the editor that I happen to use at the moment. It depends
in part on the display of the computer I'm using - I'm looking for an
appealing and clear contrast for the key elements.
So if you decide to go with this approach, you will have a second
decision, which is what colors to use for which attributes. Someone
suggested the use of css styles. That sounds like an excellent idea, as
I forsee usability issues. And with a micromanager, I also forsee last
minute changes.
A compromise position with this is to select a few of the key attributes
to use in color. For example:
method names, comments, variable names. You can experiment with this
within the code editor by going to the place where you set the colors,
make most things black, and then set just a few things, and see how they
appear.
One other, non-color coded approach is to use bold and italic. Comments
in italic. Method and possibly variable names in bold. Much less garish,
and generally serves the same purpose.
Still, if you can manage to avoid doing this, avoid it. You are correct
in assuming that it will be labor intensive.
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