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Which colour scheme is better?

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Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#51

Post by traveler01 »

rossdavidh wrote: post #19

So, I have used both routinely, and don't really care too much one way or the other. I use dark more often, but if for whatever reason I'm in an editor that is light-themed (which happens not uncommonly), it's not worth any of my time to switch. So I don't have strong emotions on this. However, I do notice that "because science says so" is becoming a more and more common "you are not allowed to argue with my conclusi…

> However, I do notice that "because science says so" is becoming a more and more common "you are not allowed to argue with my conclusions" kind of add-on to any assertion. It is an oddly religious, faith-like use of the word "science".

True. I don't care with what science says, I actually tried to use a light theme and I just couldn't do anything.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#52

Post by saagarjha »

stephc_int13 wrote: post #17

I do use two different color schemes depending on ambiant light. Dark background during the night, and light background during the day, in most cases. As simple as that. I wish my text editor would switch automatically and I might write a script to do that at some point, but this is a minor annoyance.

I do this too; I have everything on a script too to ensure that it transitions when the OS does.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#53

Post by Smithalicious »

formerly_proven wrote: post #13
thelazydogsback wrote: post #9

I think the point that's missing is reflective vs. transmitive surfaces -- that brain is used to processing not the latter, but the former -- where reflected light is related to, and less than, ambient light. If we were using hi-res color e-ink displays, I think he'd be right about eye-strain. However, using a light scheme with mostly text, you have a huge rectangle of LED (most of the time) white light blaring at yo…

> However, using a light scheme with mostly text, you have a huge rectangle of LED (most of the time) white light blaring at you, which itself causes eyestrain. I'll basically repeat my comment from below, but ergonomically set up displays meet ambient brightness, but don't exceed it (much). If you're sitting in front of a display set to 80 % brightness (~300+ cd/m²) in the evening, you're simply holding it wrong and…

I have three screens. I adjust the brightness on all of them twice per day, but you couldn't pay me to navigate the on screen displays with the mushy buttons more often than that.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#54

Post by skocznymroczny »

For me it depends on the editor. I usually just roll with the default. For Visual Studio and Netbeans I use light themes, but I can't make VSCode to look good with a light theme, it always feels off to me.

The argument about light themes being "blinding at night" I don't buy. If the screen is blinding you, then you should get better lighting in your room, it's not good to work in the dark.

Also, dark themes give me depression. When I open the IDE and it's a dark grayish rectangle I am like "oh no, I have to work with that again".

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#55

Post by bryanrasmussen »

skocznymroczny wrote: post #54

For me it depends on the editor. I usually just roll with the default. For Visual Studio and Netbeans I use light themes, but I can't make VSCode to look good with a light theme, it always feels off to me. The argument about light themes being "blinding at night" I don't buy. If the screen is blinding you, then you should get better lighting in your room, it's not good to work in the dark. Also, dark themes give me d…

>it's not good to work in the dark.

well I might be working in the dark because I am sitting in the same room as my sleeping son because he might have problems if nobody is there. I assume other people might have similar reasons why they would be in the dark instead of a well lit room at night, given that most people have electricity and know how to switch on the lights.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#56

Post by jyriand »

skocznymroczny wrote: post #54

For me it depends on the editor. I usually just roll with the default. For Visual Studio and Netbeans I use light themes, but I can't make VSCode to look good with a light theme, it always feels off to me. The argument about light themes being "blinding at night" I don't buy. If the screen is blinding you, then you should get better lighting in your room, it's not good to work in the dark. Also, dark themes give me d…

Is Netbeans still used? I remember it was a thing long time ago. I'm going to install it just out of curiosity and see if it can handle my java project.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#57

Post by suprfnk »

dragonwriter wrote: post #42

> I wanna do the same with you: try it for one week, and let me know whether you're switching back to a dark theme or not. So, I tried light themes predominantly from about 1995-2015, after using dark themes predominantly from 1985-1995, and before using dark themes predominantly from 2015-present. But, sure, a week will make a difference.

So the author is probably not speaking to you personally. It's a valid test for people that only use dark themes though. Why the snarky response?

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#58

Post by zwaps »

I think it's just an individual thing, and we should all respect that.

There is a litany of posts and opinions of people who say their eyes hurt with a light color scheme, or it produces spots in their vision, or it hurts their concentration etc. I have no reason not to believe them. Many people prefer to even show their code in a dark scheme on websites. Furthermore, many people don't care but think dark is cooler.

On the other hand, I know that for myself, coding in a dark scheme is rather painful, especially if the background is very dark (as opposed to some gray). It makes it very hard to concentrate and I experience this on all of my displays. I do not have scientific evidence for any of that, nor do I really care to produce it. However, I look at code every day, so I know what works for me. The same will be true for other people here.

I think developers should treat it as an accessibility issue. Apps should have a dark mode, since many people clearly need it. Apps should also have a light mode, since people like me need it.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#59

Post by skocznymroczny »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #55
skocznymroczny wrote: post #54

For me it depends on the editor. I usually just roll with the default. For Visual Studio and Netbeans I use light themes, but I can't make VSCode to look good with a light theme, it always feels off to me. The argument about light themes being "blinding at night" I don't buy. If the screen is blinding you, then you should get better lighting in your room, it's not good to work in the dark. Also, dark themes give me d…

>it's not good to work in the dark. well I might be working in the dark because I am sitting in the same room as my sleeping son because he might have problems if nobody is there. I assume other people might have similar reasons why they would be in the dark instead of a well lit room at night, given that most people have electricity and know how to switch on the lights.

Bias lighting might be a good option. Just light the area behind the screen to reduce the contrast of the bright screen, but still leave the remaining room somewhat dark.

Re: Which colour scheme is better?

#60

Post by _Microft »

A hack for viewing the video showing the Pulfrich effect:

Grab a pair of 3D glasses and point the side with the linear polarizer towards your LCD screen (it is the one that will not let the screen show through if rotated correctly). You can now adjust the brightness of this image by changing the relative angle between glasses and screen to change the intensity of the 3D effect.

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