More KTextEditor

Being on holidays certainly gives you time to reflect on what new features you'd like in your text editor :) I've come up with something which I hope will help make using a text editor a better experience by providing more assistance to the user... input filtering.

It came to me when I was thinking of cleaner ways to do code templates. At the moment, I think you have to use a keyboard shortcut to insert code templates? Anyway, this will make it easier for the 3rd party app developer to e.g. respond to "for " and insert a template. It will also make immutable text a possibility, something requested in a comment to my last blog. In fact it will make it possible to enforce valid structure on a document, though I personally think that would be too restrictive. Immutable text could be appropriately highlighted, and the cursor could move around it in a logical manner, so that the for ( ; ; ) { } template could be navigated more easily.

Other ideas on the go are improved text navigation eg. easier use of code folding (previews of folded code? auto-expand modes?) and the ability to add a custom widget to the top and/or bottom right-hand corners.

I've also decided to improve the idea I had for syntax highlighting by giving each text range a "state" variable, and associate a specific highlighting style to a state, then the developer just has to change the state of a range to make it look different. I'm also taking requests for whatever text decorations you'd like to see available in the next kate - I'm thinking of borrowing some ideas from css, just let me know which ones you think would be useful.

Furthermore, I'm planning to extend on code completion by adding syntax highlighting to the dropdown, expanding the info presented, allowing several different filtering and sorting rules (eg. by inheritance; by access (public/protected etc); alphanumerical; and hiding / disabling completions which don't fit the current context), and integrating (somehow - ideas?) summary documentation for the highlighted method.

My flight calls, gotta go... someone should sponsor KDE developers going on long-haul international flights so they can hack from business class! Economy is way too cramped...