Literate Programming IDE built in Elisp programming language and OrgMode markup language - Key Features

This document summarizes the features of a highly customized Literate Programming IDE built using Emacs Lisp and Emacs Org Mode. If you are a programmer, please open the accompanying ide.org file on Github to see the implementation.

Core Literate Programming Enhancements:

Smart Noweb Reference Handling

Configured org-babel to expand noweb references (\<\<Some Block\>\>) by default on tangling and evaluation, but to keep them unexpanded during export (e.g., to PDF) for improved readability.

Disabled Noweb Prefix Repetition

Eliminated the repetition of leading text before noweb targets in expanded code, ensuring cleaner tangled code.

Interactive Link Navigation (M-. and M-,)

Implemented custom functions ( anup/goto-definition, anup/goto-usage) to intelligently jump between noweb definitions ( :noweb-ref) and their usages (\<\<Target\>\>) within the Org buffer. This feature is seamlessly integrated with xref and dumb-jump.

Dynamic Usage and Definition Links

Developed a system to automatically insert and update clickable links within the Org file, showing where code blocks are defined and where they are used. This includes functions for:

• find-definitions: Identifies all :noweb-ref definitions and their line numbers.
• find-usages: Identifies all noweb targets (\<\<Target\>\>) and their usage locations.
• insert-literate-links0: Orchestrates the deletion of old links, insertion of blank placeholders, and population of actual line-numbered, hyperlinked definitions and usages.

Error Reporting for Unresolved Nowebs

Configured org-babel to raise errors if noweb references fail to resolve across all languages, ensuring code integrity.

Emacs & Org Mode User Experience (UX) & Aesthetics:

Rich Text Rendering

Enabled org-hide-emphasis-markers for clean display of italics, bold, strikethrough, underline, code, and verbatim text.

Enhanced Heading Visualization

• Utilizes org-starless to hide leading asterisks in Org headings, providing a cleaner outline view.
• Customized font families, sizes, backgrounds, and foregrounds for different Org heading levels (e.g., using “Arcanite Slab” and specific color schemes), enhancing visual hierarchy.

Intelligent Line Wrapping

Integrated adaptive-wrap and visual-line-mode to ensure wrapped lines maintain proper indentation, improving readability of long paragraphs.

Selective Content Visibility

• Set org-startup-folded to “nofold” to show all content unfolded by default, except for PROPERTIES drawers.
• org-hide-drawer-startup hides result and other drawers on file open, reducing visual clutter.
• (Previously) Implemented a feature to hide source blocks marked with :hidden on file startup, encouraging a prose-first reading experience.

Custom Code Block Theming

• Configured org-block-begin-line, org-block-end-line, and org-block faces to provide subdued, GitHub-like light grey backgrounds for source blocks, and less obtrusive delimiters.
• Enabled rainbow-mode in Emacs Lisp buffers to display hex color codes, aiding theme customization.
• Customized the appearance of :PROPERTIES: drawers and special keywords with subdued foregrounds and white backgrounds.

Cursor Visibility

Enhanced cursor color to “red” for improved visibility across various themes.

Full Line Fontification

Enabled org-fontify-whole-block-delimiter-line and org-fontify-whole-heading-line for consistent background coloring of entire heading and source block delimiter lines.

Org Variable Pitch Mode

Utilizes org-variable-pitch to intelligently switch between serif (Alegreya=/=Atkinson Hyperlegible) for prose and monospace for code/checkboxes, ensuring consistent vertical alignment.

Org Sticky Header

Implemented org-sticky-header to keep the current Org heading visible at the top of the buffer, with a custom, visually distinct separator ” ⏪ ” and hidden asterisks, enhancing navigation in long documents.

Development & Tooling Integration:

Robust Navigation (Dumb Jump & Xref)

Configured dumb-jump as the backend for xref ( M-.) using consult-xref for interactive selection with preview. Custom rules were added to dumb-jump to specifically treat Org files as Clojure files, enabling effective definition-finding within Clojure/ClojureScript Org Babel blocks.

Custom Literate Shell Scripting

Configured ob-shell to load .bashrc aliases and environment variables, ensuring consistent shell behavior within Org Babel code blocks.

Export Control

Set org-export-with-sub-superscripts to {} to prevent underscores and carets from being misinterpreted as subscripts/superscripts in exported documents, while still allowing explicit {} -enclosed subscripts/superscripts.