EmacsConf 2023: Improving compiler diagnostics with overlays - Jeff Trull
Channel: EmacsConf and Emacs hangouts
Date: 09/12/2023

Jeff Trull (he/him)

https://emacsconf.org/2023/talks/overlay

00:00 Introduction
00:33 Overlays and what they can do
02:02 Simple overlay example - creating an overlay
02:35 Adding properties
03:10 Deleting an overlay
03:24 Setting fonts the right way
03:59 More properties
04:12 Visibility
04:49 Adding text
05:27 Custom properties
05:45 Notes on properties
06:36 Improving C++ compiler output
08:17 The problem with C++ error messages
08:30 Many standard class templates have default arguments
08:47 Some types are aliases for longer things, too
09:20 Reporting type information accurately means long lines
10:18 Emacs can help - Treat C++ type names as just another kind of balanced expression
11:49 Add overlays to improve readability
12:22 Create a minor mode that runs during compilation
12:59 Parsing types as balanced expressions
14:16 Indent and fill with overlays - Use ancient "pretty printing" algorithms"
14:52 Overlays can mimic line breaks and indentation
15:14 Hiding details - Marking depths with overlays
17:12 Hiding to a target depth
18:04 Demo
20:10 Conclusion

You can view this and other resources using free/libre software at https://emacsconf.org/2023/talks/overlay .
This video is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.