Re: preconv generates a good unicode escape but groff can't find special character

[Peter Schaffter]

> My personal opinion is that using syntax highlighting is a bad
> idea in general...  Of course, i'm aware that a majority of people
> disagrees with this personal opinion and like syntax highlighting
> for reasons i do not fully understand.

Contrast and legibility.  Grouping conceptually similiar items by
colour assists mightily in wading through long swaths of code,
and in a document using markup, distinguishes the text from the
formatting.  Html without syntax hightlighting?  No way!

It has, however, never occured to me that people use syntax
highlighting for final syntax validation.  I'd never condone that.
Mind you, long patches of code/text in the wrong colour has alerted
me to errors more times than I can count.

>   If you choose to use syntax highlighting, always assume that
>   the highlighting is totally bogus and makes no sense whatsoever.

Methinks that's a little overstated.  "Totally bogus" and "make no
sense whatsoever" are erroneous assumptions since competent syntax
highlighting is correct in more cases than it is not and generally
makes perfect sense.  Better to say "assume that the highlighting
isn't perfect," which is both more accurate and a more useful piece
of advice.

>   Never, ever rely on syntax highlighting for any kind of syntax
>   validation.

"Never, ever rely on syntax highlighting for *final* syntax validation."
 
-- 
Peter Schaffter
https://www.schaffter.ca