<img alt="Screenshot of JavaScript code highlighted by context." src="screenshot.png" title="Screenshot">
</p>
-Highlights JavaScript code according to function context. Code in the global
-scope is white, code in functions within the global scope is yellow, code within
-such functions is green, etc.
+Highlights JavaScript code according to function context.
+
+- Code in the global scope is one color. Code in functions within the global
+ scope is a different color, and code within such functions is another color,
+ and so on.
+- Identifiers retain the color of the scope in which they were declared.
+- Identifiers are bold when first declared.
+- Comments are gray and italic.
+
+In JavaScript, we are constantly leveraging closures to bind nearby
+data. Lexical scope information at-a-glance can assist a programmer in
+understanding the overall structure of a program. It can also help curb nasty
+bugs like implicit globals and name shadowing, and act as an indicator of
+excessive complexity.
+
+There are some breakthrough advantages, too. Context coloring could enable a
+programmer to write in a functional style. It would be easy to tell when he had
+escaped the boundaries of his function and produced side-effects.
+
+Context coloring also improves a programmer's ability to write functions that
+construct objects with implicit private state (which is a good way to avoid
+`this` too).
+
+This coloring scheme is probably more useful than conventional JavaScript
+*syntax* highlighting. Highlighting keywords can help detect spelling errors, or
+alert one to unclosed string literals; but so can a [linter][]. (If you haven't
+already, you should [integrate][emacs integration] one into your editor.)
## Usage
-- [Install Node.js 0.10 (or higher).][node]
-- Clone this repository and put it on your [load path][].
-- In your `~/.emacs`:
+Requires Emacs 24+ and [Node.js 0.10+][node].
+
+- Clone this repository.
+- Run `make` in it.
+- Add it to your [load path][].
+- Add the following to your `~/.emacs`:
```lisp
(require 'context-coloring)
(add-hook 'js-mode-hook 'context-coloring-mode)
```
-[node]: http://nodejs.org/download/)
+[linter]: https://github.com/jacksonrayhamilton/jslinted
+[emacs integration]: https://github.com/jacksonrayhamilton/jslinted#emacs-integration
+[node]: http://nodejs.org/download/
[load path]: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Lisp-Libraries.html