Share via

Google makes your code prettier

  • Article

Something I'd love to see Microsoft do more of is small, simple, solutions to annoying problems that would delight customers.  Here is a perfect example.

Google Gode Prettifier

A simple Javascript and CSS file, the Google Code Prettifier makes syntax highlighting in a web document super easy. It's pretty flexible too. According to the project page , the lexer involved will correctly highlight code written in C, Java, Python, Bash, SQL, HTML, XML, CSS, Javascript, and Makefiles.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    March 25, 2007
    Prettiness helps but please don't make it a priority.  Where MSDN provides copyable sample code that is supposed to show how to use some API or how to solve some difficulty, please make the sample code accurate before making it pretty.

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2007
    Hi Josh, happy to see that a DevDiv Softie would embrace the google product. The tool is neat and a lot of my friends (i'm a student) are talking about it.  Actually Google Code is pretty popular and it has taken over SourgeForge. I think there are a couple of lessons (and the codeplex) team to take:

  1. what makes google code more popular than codeplex besides publicity?  well first of all they did a fine job at publishing their ideas.  second, googlers are allowed to devote some of their own time into their own interesting projects.  I guess it's not possible in MS but, I am sure you guys have written a lot of cool (little) tools that won't monetize but will be very useful.  So maybe it's time to encourage Softie to publish their ideas (esp the ideas/prototype that aren't funded) into codeplex. An open source playground where Softies (some of the smartest and most experienced coders in the world) publish their own cool gadget will get a lot of attention.

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2007
    Sorry Josh.  I made a long reply but it never made it to get accepted so I was forced to put the whole comments on my own blog (which I posted on my link).  I would really like to heard what you think about it and what difficulties you have in responsing to these challenges.  Maybe you can have a separate post to address them, please?

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2007
    Hey Josh, I tried very hard to post my comments on your blog but it is very hard to get MSDN to accept my long reply so I was forced to post it in the link.  I would love to hear your comments and what the codeplex team will do in the future!