LOOKING AT CODE LIKE LETTERS IN A BOOK
       
       In 2023 I configured my own Emacs theme, monochwome. I made
       it as an homage to the amber coloured glass teletypes of
       days passed. How romantic they look, right? I know the green
       ones are the most popular and iconic. But if I were alive
       back then I'd be sitting in-front of warm, cozy amber.
       
   IMG A glass teletype with an amber cathode ray tube
       
       The theme started out expressly intended to derived all
       highlighting and other color aids from a single preset hue,
       `orange'. (At the start the theme had a different name,
       though I can't recall what). But I soon realized that the
       theme should be easily adaptable to any hue: `green',
       `blue', `purple', whatever. That's `monochwome' as it is
       now: configurable to derive all colors from a single user
       selected seed hue.
       
   DIR Monochwome (Emacs Theme)
       
       Towards the end of 2023 I switched from using Emacs in X to
       using Emacs in a urxvt buffer (`emacs -nw', the command I
       lovingly invoke). The amber version of monochwome didn't
       look all that great in a terminal, so I stopped using it. I
       ran with `modus-vivendi' instead, and I stopped giving a
       damn about what my editor looked like.
       
       Then, a confluence of factors started to shift me away from
       syntax highlighting. Influences on IRC and gopher proclaimed
       the benefits of monochromatic coding. I started using (and
       loving!) less and ed(1) for writing programs and reading
       code. Slowly, my preconceptions that syntax highlighting is
       an aide to my work eroded. And then I finally realized:
       dang, color in my code really *is* annoying.
       
       At first, I adapted Emacs by simply disabling
       `font-lock-mode'. But that was a bit too harsh of a
       change. There are a few aspects of Emacs' typography that
       are nice to look at, like how links in `org-mode' are
       shortened. So I looked for theme packages that could set my
       Emacs into black and white instead. And then I remembered
       `monochwome'! It was never intended to be used with shades
       of gray. But to my delight and surprise it looks great! See
       for yourself:
       
   IMG monochwome in monochrome
       
       In fact, monochwome looked good for other hues too, even
       though Emacs was run in a terminal. I can only think I must
       have messed up some customization variables, or had multiple
       themes applied causing weird styles, which initially made
       monochwome look awful. Oh well.
       
       Anyways, I don't just want to detail my little journey away
       from syntax highlighting. I want to add meaty substance to
       this timeless conversation about programming without syntax
       highlighting. I want to suggest that there's a relationship
       between reading a book and coding in monochrome. Further: I
       want to propose that this experience is literary. Indeed:
       that coding is inherently a literary adventure, and that
       getting rid of distracting colours is a way to strengthen
       the impact of the text. Reading and writing code that's
       shown in an underwhelming amount of color forces your brain
       to fill in the gaps, like it does when reading a book. You
       must use your imagination. And as a consequence you get a
       more vivid experience of programming.
       
       Computer programs are like chapters in a story, and the
       entire history of computer is this ever expanding
       interactive epic to which they belong. A person can
       simultaneously read and write to the epic as it unfolds. If
       you want, you can even contribute your character and
       dialogue to the many plots unfolding in parallel like Linux,
       PHP, Common Lisp, C, whatever! Coding au naturel is the way
       this story is meant to be typeset. It's the platonic form of
       code---everything else is lipstick on the gorilla: cosmetics
       that occlude the actual form of the creature beneath.
       
       So here's my pitch for those who don't code in monochrome to
       do it: if you like reading, if you like using your
       imagination, if you're like me and your thoughts and
       feelings are most vivid when your brain has to fill in the
       gaps, then you will love coding in the nude---no fancy
       fonts, no bright colors, no syntax highlights. Just text on
       a page, as simple as you can get it, like a dog would see
       it. Give'r a go! If you don't take immediately stick with
       it, struggle, and then experience the freedom and vivid
       experience of your brain muscling around the banalities of
       white text on a black page. It's truly something. You'll be
       able to pick up any old piece of code and turn it into a
       magnificent, captivating theater of the mind...