Using annotate

Of course it's perfectly valid to use any editor you wish to edit your source-code. Maybe you have your favorite editor, or simply dislike fp-ide (which comes with syntax highlighting, compiles out of the box after proper configuration and that supports for help files, help can be found on keywords under cursor and keywords can be auto-completed).

But alas, there are not many syntax highlighting editors available for AROS (that also supports or has the ability to support pascal syntax highlighting). The only other editor i am aware of that could pull that off is vim. And although this editor originates from classic amiga OS, i actually never learned to work with that editor.

Another alternative that can be used is the Annotate editor that is developed by OnyxSoft. Icaros installation has this editor installed by default, and in case your installation contains an older version then please make sure to update your installed version with the one available on OnyxSoft's website (as there are some incompatibilities between different versions of Annotate due to some new features/bugfixes).

Annotate's syntax file

here is the syntax file that i imported in Annotate to get pascal syntax highlighting working:

<source lang="xml"> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <!DOCTYPE Ann-SyntaxHighlighting> <Ann-SyntaxHighlighting>

 <Syntax>
   <Name>Pascal</Name>
   <Qualifying>
     <OrTokens caseinsensitive="1">program unit </OrTokens>
     <FilePattern>#?.(dpr|pas|lpr|pp)</FilePattern>
   </Qualifying>
   <Tokens>260</Tokens>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">absolute</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">abstract</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">and</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">array</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">as</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">begin</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">break</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">case</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">class</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">const</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">constructor</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">continue</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">destructor</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">dispose</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">div</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">do</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">downto</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">else</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">end</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">except</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">exit</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">export</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">file</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">finalization</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">finally</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">for</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">function</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">goto</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">if</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">implementation</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">in</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">inherited</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">initialization</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">inline</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">interface</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">is</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">label</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">library</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">mod</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">new</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">not</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">object</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">of</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">on</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">operator</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">or</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">out</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">packed</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">procedure</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">program</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">property</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">raise</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">record</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">repeat</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">self</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">set</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">shl</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">shr</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">string</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">then</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">threadvar</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">to</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">try</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">type</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">unit</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">until</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">uses</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">var</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">virtual</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">while</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">with</Token>
   <Token pen="210" style="bold" caseinsensitive="1">xor</Token>
   <Token pen="215" caseinsensitive="1">true</Token>
   <Token pen="215" caseinsensitive="1">false</Token>
   <Token pen="215" caseinsensitive="1">nil</Token>
   <ComplexToken>
     <Token pen="240" style="italic">//</Token>
     <MatchToEOL/>
   </ComplexToken>
   <Token pen="222">include</Token>
   <Token pen="222">exclude</Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[><]]></Token>    
   <Token pen="223"><![CDATA[<<]]></Token>
   <Token pen="223"><![CDATA[>>]]></Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[<>]]></Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[<=]]></Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[>=]]></Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[<]]></Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[>]]></Token>
   <Token pen="220"><![CDATA[=]]></Token>
   <Token pen="221">+</Token>
   <Token pen="221">-</Token>
   <Token pen="221">*</Token>
   <Token pen="221">/</Token>
   <Token>()</Token>
   <Token pen="2">:=</Token>
   <Token style="bold">:</Token>
   <Token style="bold">,</Token>
   <Token pen="2" bgpen="4">==</Token>
   <Token pen="2" bgpen="4">!=</Token>
   <ComplexToken>
     <Token pen="211" style="italic">{$</Token>
     <MatchToToken>$}</MatchToToken>
     <MatchToEOL/>
   </ComplexToken>        
   <ComplexToken>
     <Token pen="230" style="italic">'</Token>
     <MatchToToken>'</MatchToToken>
     <MatchToEOL/>
   </ComplexToken>
   <ComplexToken>
     <Token pen="241" style="italic">{</Token>
     <MatchToToken>}</MatchToToken>
     <MultiLine/>
   </ComplexToken>
   <ComplexToken>
     <Token pen="242" style="italic">(*</Token>
     <MatchToToken>*)</MatchToToken>
     <MultiLine/>
   </ComplexToken>    
 </Syntax>

</Ann-SyntaxHighlighting> [/source]

Please note that the following pens are being used:

- pen   2, for assignment operator ( ":=" )
- pen 210, for pascal language keywords
- pen 211, for preprocessor statements ( "{$}" )
- pen 215, for some constants
- pen 220, for relation operators ( "<", ">", "<>", "<=", ">=" and "=")
- pen 221, for arithmetic operators ( "+", "-", "*" and "/" )
- pen 222, for set operators ( "include", "exclude" and "><" )
- pen 223, for logical operators ( "<<" and ">>" )
- pen 230, for single quote strings ( "'" )
- pen 240, for a line comment ( "//" )
- pen 241, for a block comment ( enclosed between "{" and "}" )
- pen 242, for a block comment ( enclosed between "(*" and "*)" )

And that the actual colors being used in Annotate, originates from the screen in AROS on which you have opened the Annotate editor (therefore the colors could be customized differently for each individual screen).

Because aros lacks support for configuring a user-defined palette (for the workbench at least), it's up to yourself to change the pen-colors manually (which can be done by the setpencolor utility that's present in at least the latest icaros distribution).

Please note that by setting the pens to your desired colors that you can mess up your desktop's view because you changed a color that is in use by the AROS operating system. If that's the case, simply restart your icaros installation and make sure next time you use the a pen number that is not in use by AROS (hence why the currently (absurd) used pen-numbers in annotates configuration where chosen). The only pencolor you definitely do not want to change is pen number 0-3 as they are the first default used workbench colors (and they actually _are_ being defined and always matches the original classic workbench colors).

Chancing the colors

TODO: - add pictures - explain the use of colors - probably some other stuff i forgot.