Every few months, I notice that TextMate exists and try to use it; inevitably, the requirement that I use arrow keys defeats the endeavor. It has a few features, however, that I like, most of which I've ported to vim, my primary text editor. These features are too numerous for a single post, so I'll highlight them in a series. First up: An improved Python syntax definition and my favorite color scheme.

Python Syntax

The most popular Python syntax highlighting script is pretty complete, but it's missing a few things (Update: several of the improvements I made a year ago have been added to Dmitry Vasiliev's script, such as decorators, doctests, imports, etc. I've merged the two, so this is slightly less special than before). Specifically: docstrings, self, arguments/base classes, assignment as distinct from other operators, and a few other little things. TextMate had these, so I ported them, and the results were pretty good.

Download the improved syntax file and drop it into ~/.vim/syntax.

Blackboard Color Scheme

TextMate had a color scheme that I loved: Blackboard. The colors were primaryish without being irritatingly bright or clashing; keywords, builtins, and class definitions were given appropriate prominence. I ported it to Vim. Here's what it looks like:



That example doesn't include a doctest, but they are highlighted separately in the same color as builtins.

Download the color scheme and drop it into ~/.vim/colors, then do :colorscheme blackboard to see the results. Pretty easy on the eyes, no?


Next in my Vim series: automatic handling of pair completion (and deletion).