User Experience Guidelines

To borrow a slogan from Elm,

Compilers should be assistants, not adversaries. A compiler should not just detect bugs, it should then help you understand why there is a bug. It should not berate you in a robot voice, it should give you specific hints that help you write better code. Ultimately, a compiler should make programming faster and more fun! Evan Czaplicki

This chapter provides guidelines on how to implement diagnostics and command-line options in ways that we hope achieve the above ideal.

• Guidelines for Diagnostics
  • Talk in terms of the user’s code
  • Diagnostics are actionable
  • The user’s attention is important
  • Sometimes the user didn’t write the code
  • Precision of Wording
  • Try the diagnostic on real-world code
  • Make mismatches clear
  • Location Information
  • Coding Conventions
  • Group logically-related diagnostics
  • Quoting
  • Spelling and Terminology
  • Fix-it hints
• Guidelines for Options