Subject: bug#36472: 27.0.50; Convey information by showing line numbers using different colors?

From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2019 17:30:52 +0300

> From: Dmitry Gutov <[email-masked]>
> Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2019 14:14:15 +0300
> 
> There is a feature request for diff-hl: to indicate the VCS status of
> different lines by using the colors of the line numbers, instead of
> fringe or margin indicators.
> 
> (https://github.com/dgutov/diff-hl/issues/124)
> 
> I think this is not possible yet, but if there was a hook to choose how
> a number is displayed, I'd be able to use it.

I wouldn't hold my breath, because this will mean any display routine
that calculates layout will have to call some non-trivial Lisp,
possibly even running a subprocess.  Not a very good design, IMO.

Why don't you show these indicators on the fringes or in the display
margins?  That's what those features are there for, and native line
numbers keep their claws off the margins for that very reason.