Just about every text editor offers some sort of automatic formatting capability--syntax coloring. Currently each editor has a parser and tries to understand code syntax. Why should every different editor have to implement its own C/C++/Perl/Java/Fortan/Ada/Lua/Befunge parser to provide syntax coloring and assorted services? I would like to see a set of standard hooks in compilers and interpreters, that would allow text editors request information about the code for syntax parsing, and who knows what else. Why can't we write a compiler that exposes an API that allows editors to request expert knowledge from the real expert--the compiler?

I can't find precise references but I'm quite sure to have read something along these lines in p6l, and IIRC the general consensus amongst @Larry and others was that indeed such facilities should and will be provided in Perl 6, which is even more important for a language like that, given its modifiable grammar.