How to Enable Syntax Highlighting When Rendering HTML from Tiptap Editor
Tags: javascript, nextjs, webdev, react
Published: 2024-01-04 15:59:08

Importance of Syntax Highlighting in Code Readability:
One essential element of code editors is syntax highlighting, which employs different colors and fonts to indicate different sections of a codebase. It is essential for improving code readability:

- **Visual Clarity:** Syntax highlighting visually distinguishes between various components in code by applying different colors to keywords, strings, comments, etc. This division makes it easier for developers to see and rapidly understand logic and code structure.
- **Focus and Scannability:** Highlighted code makes it simpler to concentrate on pertinent portions when skimming through code files, which boosts productivity and eases mental strain.
- **Language comprehending:** Syntax highlighting is particularly helpful for developers unfamiliar with a programming language as it aids in comprehending language structures.

## Rendering the Content using the Tiptap Editor:

When incorporating Tiptap Editor to render content, it provides a convenient method to display content exactly as it appears within the editor itself. By setting the editable boolean expression to false, we disable editing capabilities for the post, ensuring the content is view-only.

However, despite its convenience, using the editor to render content might present certain challenges:

1. **Rendering Performance:** The Tiptap Editor can exhibit slower rendering times, especially with complex or extensive content. This delay might impact the overall user experience, necessitating optimization measures for better performance.

2. **SEO Considerations:** In applications like a blog, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is paramount. Rendering content in HTML is recommended for SEO purposes. While Tiptap allows rendering content in HTML, certain styling elements, such as code highlighting, might face challenges.
 
3. **Styling Limitations:** Not all styling or formatting applied within the Tiptap Editor seamlessly translates to the rendered HTML output. For instance, code highlighting does not function as expected when rendering HTML, posing a challenge for maintaining consistent styles across the content.

## Tackling Challenges with react-syntax-highlight Library:

To address the limitations in styling elements like code highlighting when rendering content from the Tiptap Editor into HTML, leveraging external libraries such as react-syntax-highlight can offer a viable solution.

Introducing **react-syntax-highlight**:

The **react-syntax-highlight** library provides a robust solution for syntax highlighting in React applications. It enables the presentation of code snippets with enhanced readability and visual appeal by applying syntax highlighting to various programming languages.

**Integration Process:
**Library Installation: Begin by installing react-syntax-highlight into your Next.js project. Utilize npm or yarn for smooth integration:

`npm install react-syntax-highlight or yarn add react-syntax-highlight
`

## Utilizing react-syntax-highlight with Tiptap's HTML Output:

**

- Parse Tiptap's HTML output containing code snippets.
- Identify code blocks within the HTML content.
- Implement the react-syntax-highlight library to apply syntax highlighting to these identified code blocks.

```
import React from 'react';
import ReactHtmlParser from 'react-html-parser';
import { Prism as SyntaxHighlighter } from 'react-syntax-highlighter';
import { oneDark } from 'react-syntax-highlighter/dist/esm/styles/prism'; // Adjust style as needed

const renderContentWithCodeHighlighting = (content) => {
    const parsedContent = ReactHtmlParser(content, {
        transform: (node, index) => {
            if (node.type === 'tag' && node.name === 'code') {
                return (
                    <SyntaxHighlighter
                        key={index}
                        language="javascript" // Define the language for code highlighting
                        style={oneDark} // Choose the desired style
                    >
                        {node.children[0].data}
                    </SyntaxHighlighter>
                );
            }
            return undefined;
        },
    });

    return parsedContent;
};

// Usage within a React component
const RenderedContent = ({ tiptapHTMLContent }) => {
    return (
        <div className="rendered-content">
            {renderContentWithCodeHighlighting(tiptapHTMLContent)}
        </div>
    );
};

export default RenderedContent;
```

## **renderContentWithCodeHighlighting Function:**

**Purpose:** This function parses Tiptap's HTML output and identifies tags to apply syntax highlighting.

**Implementation:
**
It utilizes ReactHtmlParser to parse the HTML content.

The transform function in ReactHtmlParser checks each node in the HTML content.

When encountering a  tag (representing code snippets), it replaces it with a SyntaxHighlighter component.

Parameters such as language (programming language) and style (code highlighting style) are passed to the SyntaxHighlighter.

## **RenderedContent Component:**

**Implementation**:

The RenderedContent functional component takes tiptapHTMLContent as a prop.

It renders a div with the class "rendered-content".

Inside this div, the renderContentWithCodeHighlighting function is invoked, passing the Tiptap Editor's HTML content (tiptapHTMLContent).

For a comprehensive understanding of code block styling, I encourage exploring the blog post [How to Enable Syntax Highlighting When Rendering HTML from Tiptap Editor](https://code-sequence-blog.vercel.app/blogs/how-to-enable-syntax-highlighting-when-rendering-html-from-tiptap-editor). It offers detailed insights and techniques to elevate the presentation of code blocks, ensuring a professional and polished appearance.