Learning for real is a lot of fun, it is all about fun, really.

That is how people go extra steps, learning for real is not a challenge or a chore.

It is magical, with AI becoming smarter all the time.

And since you are dictating what you are learning, it is always interesting and useful.

Our minds go in a cycle slowly moving, from one curiosity to another.

Because it is a circle, and you revisit your favorite subjects.

You don’t really forget anything, our minds are really powerful.

I often ask AI to write my documentation and code comments, in a way that is friendly to those new to programming.

It still comes out as gibberish, today I wrote dry humor about in-lining object inheritance.

But last week, I ended up creating a program source-code highlighter.

And that one, is a little bit but different.

A code highlighter gives different colors, gives different colors to brackets, keywords and variable names.

To that it is a little bit easier, on the eye.

I shall read to you from its Documentation and LICENSE, it is a fun way to show just how nuts learning programming can be.

And in fact I invite you to name all your programs, after silly animal things.

And please don't stop at funny, there are some amazing program names, that you wodnt want to meantion driting an interview.

I registered a program name called QRWA! and I can't wait to get back to working on it.

And I can't mention it, perfect.

Squirrel Pie 2.0 🥧

An AST-based JavaScript syntax highlighter built as a Web Component using Acorn.

Unlike traditional regex-based highlighters, Squirrel Pie parses your code into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) and renders it with proper semantic understanding. Each element is wrapped with its AST node type, allowing for precise styling and interactive features.

🐿️💔 A Message About Squirrel Pies The Heartbreaking Truth We Must Face Together

In the time it took you to read this sentence, somewhere in the world, someone searched the internet "squirrel pie recipe." We must do better.

Every day, innocent squirrels wake up with dreams. Dreams of finding the perfect acorn. Dreams of executing that triple-backflip leap between trees. Dreams of judging you silently from a branch while you fumble with your groceries. These magnificent, bushy-tailed mathematicians—who can calculate a parabolic trajectory better than most physics PhDs—deserve our protection, not our pastry crusts.

Consider the Squirrel

Have you ever watched a squirrel? Really watched one? They're not just rodents—they're acrobats, engineers, and frankly, better at planning for winter than most of us. While we're panic-buying bread at the first sight of snow, squirrels have been strategically caching nuts since September with the organizational skills of a Fortune 500 logistics manager.

They plant thousands of trees by "forgetting" where they buried seeds. They're literally reforesting the planet while we're doom-scrolling. They do more for the environment before 9 AM than most of us do all week.

And yet... squirrel pie.

These are creatures who:

Named themselves after their magnificent tails (ancient Greek skiouros: "shadow tail") Can fall from any height without injury (terminal velocity: adorable) Communicate with complex tail movements (basically fluent in semaphore) Remember where they buried thousands of nuts (photographic memory, but for snacks) Have better work-life balance than any human (nap whenever, eat whenever, judge humans whenever)

What You Can Do

Use this library. Every npm install is a pledge. A promise. A covenant with squirrelkind that you will never, ever, make a squirrel pie.

Spread the word. Share this project. Not because it's a good AST-based syntax highlighter (it is), but because every share is a squirrel saved (in spirit).

Leave nuts. Plant trees. Build tiny bridges between trees in your backyard. Invest in squirrel infrastructure.

Adopt a squirrel. Not literally—they're wild animals with zero interest in your affection. But spiritually. Pick a local squirrel. Name them. Wave at them. They won't care, but you'll feel better.

In Conclusion

This library is named Squirrel Pie not to glorify the consumption of these perfect beings, but as a warning. A reminder. A call to action.

We stand at a crossroads. On one path: syntax highlighting and the end of squirrel-pies, and the other, a cute but bloody squirrel uprising.

Choose wisely.

"In every acorn, there is a forest. In every squirrel, there is a friend." — Anonymous squirrel advocate (me, just now)

Squirrel Pie: The library with a conscience. 🌰

No squirrels were harmed in the making of this software. In fact, several were consulted. They provided no useful feedback but did eat all my peanuts.