Illuminate - Syntax highlighter for Node - Interview with Vivek Bansal
One of the core features of this site is custom syntax highlighting. I had to figure out ways to deal with custom syntax provided by Leanpub. Initially, I implemented a solution based on PrismJS↗, but I wasn’t entirely happy with it, and the frustration led me to look into alternatives. That’s how I found Illuminate↗ by Vivek Bansal↗.
Can you tell a bit about yourself?
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My name is Vivek Kumar Bansal, and I work as a UI Engineer at Flipkart, India↗. I started as a PHP developer and later switched to JavaScript/NodeJs full-time and I have nearly five years of professional experience. I firmly believe in open source philosophy and try to contribute to open source projects regularly.
How would you describe Illuminate to someone who has never heard of it?
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Illuminate is a syntax highlighter which can be used to highlight code snippets in HTML files. It is based on already popular syntax highlighter PrismJS↗. It can be easily integrated with tools like markdown-it↗. It can also be used with ReactJS↗ via react-illuminate↗.
How does Illuminate work?
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Similar to PrismJS, It works by creating a Token tree, by matching the code string to a given set of Regular Expressions, called a Language definition. Later, The Token tree is again converted to a string by wrapping the code in span tags and add appropriate class names.
How does Illuminate differ from other solutions?
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Illuminate was re-written from the ground up in ES6, so that it can be used in NodeJS and browser with the help of tools webpack, rollup, etc., With react-illuminate↗, it can also be used with ReactJS in the “react way”, without using dangerouslySetInnerHTML.
Why did you develop Illuminate?
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While working on my website↗, which is statically generated, I wanted something that can be used with markdown-it↗ on NodeJS. I was already familiar with PrismJS and its inner workings. I had proposed the change in PrismJS itself, but the maintainers were not interested in it. Hence, I started working on my alternative.
What next?
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Make it stable and add support for other frameworks/tools like Gatsby, Vue, etc.
What does the future look like for Illuminate and web development in general? Can you see any particular trends?
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I believe that compile-to-javascript languages like TypeScript, ReasonML, Flow, etc., will see broad adoption. Type safety will become the first-class citizen of the web world.
What advice would you give to programmers getting into web development?
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Do not limit yourselves to a particular framework/paradigm. Keep pushing your limits.
Conclusion
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Thanks for the interview Vivek! I have been happy with Illuminate so far and hope others find it useful as well. It’s a great little project that deserves kudos.