diff --git a/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.cpp
index b42a57058624cc435ca20772be4fc59dcbb0d924..39172a36a41dec4455fc8e29b2e5d5ef8187fba0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.cpp
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ static bool isVariable(const QString &word)
 
 
 CMakeHighlighter::CMakeHighlighter(QTextDocument *document) :
-    QSyntaxHighlighter(document)
+    TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(document)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.h b/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.h
index dce5acf05795c5597f9085e53b86a3cc7aafa353..5c76a218075b2288dfbbb3934604b3696d999749 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cmakeprojectmanager/cmakehighlighter.h
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 #ifndef CMAKEHIGHLIGHTER_H
 #define CMAKEHIGHLIGHTER_H
 
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 #include <QtCore/QtAlgorithms>
 #include <QtGui/QSyntaxHighlighter>
 #include <QtGui/QTextCharFormat>
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ namespace Internal {
 /* This is a simple syntax highlighter for CMake files.
  * It highlights variables, commands, strings and comments.
  * Multi-line strings and variables inside strings are also recognized. */
-class CMakeHighlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class CMakeHighlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
diff --git a/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.cpp
index 321025058e329b10e9409b7d06442db3f2ce994b..c98c35dcdc7d732e7e7e0004659e729a787e3f12 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.cpp
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ using namespace TextEditor;
 using namespace CPlusPlus;
 
 CppHighlighter::CppHighlighter(QTextDocument *document) :
-    QSyntaxHighlighter(document)
+    TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(document)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.h b/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.h
index 9d7c0496fc592891f13240d01fcebc315a970185..d8fe769371a06c399085b16dfd167bf4906f1737 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cppeditor/cpphighlighter.h
@@ -31,16 +31,17 @@
 #define CPPHIGHLIGHTER_H
 
 #include "cppeditorenums.h"
-#include <QtGui/QSyntaxHighlighter>
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 #include <QtGui/QTextCharFormat>
 #include <QtCore/QtAlgorithms>
 
 namespace CppEditor {
+
 namespace Internal {
 
 class CPPEditor;
 
-class CppHighlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class CppHighlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljseditor.cpp b/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljseditor.cpp
index bd3f5fdc57b5abdb647bc8b3efe644c9c7cb5dc4..a9a74a85fcc63cef8f39964d019e448c6f46ee49 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljseditor.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljseditor.cpp
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
 #include <texteditor/textblockiterator.h>
 #include <texteditor/texteditorconstants.h>
 #include <texteditor/texteditorsettings.h>
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 #include <qmldesigner/qmldesignerconstants.h>
 #include <utils/changeset.h>
 #include <utils/uncommentselection.h>
diff --git a/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.cpp
index e7965286d4f266e2767c6bb9eb6803502eb4a120..423598a4e6d8a1e4cc24be5c17ca6b4ca0b35122 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.cpp
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ using namespace QmlJSEditor;
 using namespace QmlJS;
 
 Highlighter::Highlighter(QTextDocument *parent)
-    : QSyntaxHighlighter(parent),
+    : TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(parent),
       m_qmlEnabled(true),
       m_inMultilineComment(false)
 {
diff --git a/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.h b/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.h
index 3c33ebe721266d726bf8901f276cd14c10e0cb60..0be4f9bbf453904e15aa22b5bad79606ea227751 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/qmljseditor/qmljshighlighter.h
@@ -39,10 +39,11 @@
 #include <QtGui/QSyntaxHighlighter>
 
 #include <texteditor/basetextdocumentlayout.h>
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 
 namespace QmlJSEditor {
 
-class QMLJSEDITOR_EXPORT Highlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class QMLJSEDITOR_EXPORT Highlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.cpp
index 69a7ca2bf4cea1517bc667659b042692823678a5..cf9e72d2ca06cc9cf3325c2e0c1ef6f3a22241a4 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.cpp
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ static bool isFunction(const QString &word)
 }
 
 ProFileHighlighter::ProFileHighlighter(QTextDocument *document) :
-    QSyntaxHighlighter(document)
+    TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(document)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.h b/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.h
index 14f3401451bbb198d112e394540c71b5ab013937..87dadce27e147a3c2a034c52186121efc6e3b4ca 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/qt4projectmanager/profilehighlighter.h
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 #ifndef PROFILEHIGHLIGHTER_H
 #define PROFILEHIGHLIGHTER_H
 
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 #include <QtCore/QtAlgorithms>
 #include <QtGui/QSyntaxHighlighter>
 #include <QtGui/QTextCharFormat>
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@
 namespace Qt4ProjectManager {
 namespace Internal {
 
-class ProFileHighlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class ProFileHighlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.cpp
index be2214d7fca7cc5ae21a8f8c63c0d3ece9a32e34..8f6654aaf4fdfa8d0d3a77d667c7010e9d8140c0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.cpp
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 #include "basetextdocumentlayout.h"
 #include "basetexteditor.h"
 #include "storagesettings.h"
+#include "syntaxhighlighter.h"
 
 #include <QtCore/QFile>
 #include <QtCore/QDir>
@@ -357,7 +358,7 @@ void BaseTextDocument::reload(ReloadFlag flag, ChangeType type)
     }
 }
 
-void BaseTextDocument::setSyntaxHighlighter(QSyntaxHighlighter *highlighter)
+void BaseTextDocument::setSyntaxHighlighter(SyntaxHighlighter *highlighter)
 {
     if (m_highlighter)
         delete m_highlighter;
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.h b/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.h
index 7447d8167d58ab20af09f49c966dc35ff581b465..cd503276b333291e32d8d967b895e60cc05fdcd9 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.h
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/basetextdocument.h
@@ -40,11 +40,12 @@
 QT_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
 class QTextCursor;
 class QTextDocument;
-class QSyntaxHighlighter;
 QT_END_NAMESPACE
 
 namespace TextEditor {
 
+class SyntaxHighlighter;
+
 class DocumentMarker : public ITextMarkable
 {
     Q_OBJECT
@@ -101,8 +102,8 @@ public:
     virtual void reload();
 
     QTextDocument *document() const { return m_document; }
-    void setSyntaxHighlighter(QSyntaxHighlighter *highlighter);
-    QSyntaxHighlighter *syntaxHighlighter() const { return m_highlighter; }
+    void setSyntaxHighlighter(SyntaxHighlighter *highlighter);
+    SyntaxHighlighter *syntaxHighlighter() const { return m_highlighter; }
 
 
     inline bool isBinaryData() const { return m_isBinaryData; }
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ private:
     TabSettings m_tabSettings;
     QTextDocument *m_document;
     DocumentMarker *m_documentMarker;
-    QSyntaxHighlighter *m_highlighter;
+    SyntaxHighlighter *m_highlighter;
 
     enum LineTerminatorMode {
         LFLineTerminator,
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/basetexteditor.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/basetexteditor.cpp
index a21aba0b5a6d8b16be6d7cd6fc5bb14d0d7485ba..eb200ad79b7a9daccb3b03052e02c3917ad55284 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/basetexteditor.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/basetexteditor.cpp
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 #include "tabsettings.h"
 #include "texteditorconstants.h"
 #include "texteditorplugin.h"
+#include "syntaxhighlighter.h"
 
 #include <aggregation/aggregate.h>
 #include <coreplugin/actionmanager/actionmanager.h>
@@ -4940,7 +4941,7 @@ void BaseTextEditor::setDisplaySettings(const DisplaySettings &ds)
     setCenterOnScroll(ds.m_centerCursorOnScroll);
 
     if (d->m_displaySettings.m_visualizeWhitespace != ds.m_visualizeWhitespace) {
-        if (QSyntaxHighlighter *highlighter = baseTextDocument()->syntaxHighlighter())
+        if (SyntaxHighlighter *highlighter = baseTextDocument()->syntaxHighlighter())
             highlighter->rehighlight();
         QTextOption option =  document()->defaultTextOption();
         if (ds.m_visualizeWhitespace)
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.cpp
index 00f51ade2b6ec9cc69f7b4fea8b2a8ca06555608..98de86d7fa59c1646efeac9cd1f171861bd91b6a 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.cpp
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ namespace {
 const Highlighter::KateFormatMap Highlighter::m_kateFormats;
 
 Highlighter::Highlighter(QTextDocument *parent) :
-    QSyntaxHighlighter(parent),
+    TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(parent),
     m_regionDepth(0),
     m_indentationBasedFolding(false),
     m_tabSettings(0),
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.h b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.h
index ee3b94019cb6cdfec7987cf67af8a35deb4a23c5..a7135982f213c77f54d9c5db95800ed784444978 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/highlighter.h
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #define HIGHLIGHTER_H
 
 #include "basetextdocumentlayout.h"
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 
 #include <QtCore/QString>
 #include <QtCore/QVector>
@@ -52,8 +53,10 @@ class Context;
 class HighlightDefinition;
 class ProgressData;
 
-class Highlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class Highlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
+    Q_OBJECT
+
 public:
     Highlighter(QTextDocument *parent = 0);
     virtual ~Highlighter();
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..59113d99f44994f756eb32b2563e6a4e61dc7008
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,662 @@
+/****************************************************************************
+**
+** Copyright (C) 2010 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
+** All rights reserved.
+** Contact: Nokia Corporation (qt-info@nokia.com)
+**
+** This file is part of the QtGui module of the Qt Toolkit.
+**
+** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:LGPL$
+** No Commercial Usage
+** This file contains pre-release code and may not be distributed.
+** You may use this file in accordance with the terms and conditions
+** contained in the Technology Preview License Agreement accompanying
+** this package.
+**
+** GNU Lesser General Public License Usage
+** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Lesser
+** General Public License version 2.1 as published by the Free Software
+** Foundation and appearing in the file LICENSE.LGPL included in the
+** packaging of this file.  Please review the following information to
+** ensure the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 requirements
+** will be met: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html.
+**
+** In addition, as a special exception, Nokia gives you certain additional
+** rights.  These rights are described in the Nokia Qt LGPL Exception
+** version 1.1, included in the file LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt in this package.
+**
+** If you have questions regarding the use of this file, please contact
+** Nokia at qt-info@nokia.com.
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+** $QT_END_LICENSE$
+**
+****************************************************************************/
+
+#include "syntaxhighlighter.h"
+
+#include <qtextdocument.h>
+#include <qtextlayout.h>
+#include <qpointer.h>
+#include <qtextobject.h>
+#include <qtextcursor.h>
+#include <qdebug.h>
+#include <qtextedit.h>
+#include <qtimer.h>
+
+using namespace TextEditor;
+
+class TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighterPrivate
+{
+    SyntaxHighlighter *q_ptr;
+    Q_DECLARE_PUBLIC(SyntaxHighlighter)
+public:
+    inline SyntaxHighlighterPrivate()
+        : q_ptr(0), rehighlightPending(false), inReformatBlocks(false)
+    {}
+
+    QPointer<QTextDocument> doc;
+
+    void _q_reformatBlocks(int from, int charsRemoved, int charsAdded);
+    void reformatBlocks(int from, int charsRemoved, int charsAdded);
+    void reformatBlock(const QTextBlock &block);
+
+    inline void rehighlight(QTextCursor &cursor, QTextCursor::MoveOperation operation) {
+        inReformatBlocks = true;
+        cursor.beginEditBlock();
+        int from = cursor.position();
+        cursor.movePosition(operation);
+        reformatBlocks(from, 0, cursor.position() - from);
+        cursor.endEditBlock();
+        inReformatBlocks = false;
+    }
+
+    inline void _q_delayedRehighlight() {
+        if (!rehighlightPending)
+            return;
+        rehighlightPending = false;
+        q_func()->rehighlight();
+    }
+
+    void applyFormatChanges();
+    QVector<QTextCharFormat> formatChanges;
+    QTextBlock currentBlock;
+    bool rehighlightPending;
+    bool inReformatBlocks;
+};
+
+void SyntaxHighlighterPrivate::applyFormatChanges()
+{
+    bool formatsChanged = false;
+
+    QTextLayout *layout = currentBlock.layout();
+
+    QList<QTextLayout::FormatRange> ranges = layout->additionalFormats();
+
+    const int preeditAreaStart = layout->preeditAreaPosition();
+    const int preeditAreaLength = layout->preeditAreaText().length();
+
+    if (preeditAreaLength != 0) {
+        QList<QTextLayout::FormatRange>::Iterator it = ranges.begin();
+        while (it != ranges.end()) {
+            if (it->start >= preeditAreaStart
+                && it->start + it->length <= preeditAreaStart + preeditAreaLength) {
+                ++it;
+            } else {
+                it = ranges.erase(it);
+                formatsChanged = true;
+            }
+        }
+    } else if (!ranges.isEmpty()) {
+        ranges.clear();
+        formatsChanged = true;
+    }
+
+    QTextCharFormat emptyFormat;
+
+    QTextLayout::FormatRange r;
+    r.start = -1;
+
+    int i = 0;
+    while (i < formatChanges.count()) {
+
+        while (i < formatChanges.count() && formatChanges.at(i) == emptyFormat)
+            ++i;
+
+        if (i >= formatChanges.count())
+            break;
+
+        r.start = i;
+        r.format = formatChanges.at(i);
+
+        while (i < formatChanges.count() && formatChanges.at(i) == r.format)
+            ++i;
+
+        if (i >= formatChanges.count())
+            break;
+
+        r.length = i - r.start;
+
+        if (preeditAreaLength != 0) {
+            if (r.start >= preeditAreaStart)
+                r.start += preeditAreaLength;
+            else if (r.start + r.length >= preeditAreaStart)
+                r.length += preeditAreaLength;
+        }
+
+        ranges << r;
+        formatsChanged = true;
+        r.start = -1;
+    }
+
+    if (r.start != -1) {
+        r.length = formatChanges.count() - r.start;
+
+        if (preeditAreaLength != 0) {
+            if (r.start >= preeditAreaStart)
+                r.start += preeditAreaLength;
+            else if (r.start + r.length >= preeditAreaStart)
+                r.length += preeditAreaLength;
+        }
+
+        ranges << r;
+        formatsChanged = true;
+    }
+
+    if (formatsChanged) {
+        layout->setAdditionalFormats(ranges);
+        doc->markContentsDirty(currentBlock.position(), currentBlock.length());
+    }
+}
+
+void SyntaxHighlighterPrivate::_q_reformatBlocks(int from, int charsRemoved, int charsAdded)
+{
+    if (!inReformatBlocks)
+        reformatBlocks(from, charsRemoved, charsAdded);
+}
+
+void SyntaxHighlighterPrivate::reformatBlocks(int from, int charsRemoved, int charsAdded)
+{
+    rehighlightPending = false;
+
+    QTextBlock block = doc->findBlock(from);
+    if (!block.isValid())
+        return;
+
+    int endPosition;
+    QTextBlock lastBlock = doc->findBlock(from + charsAdded + (charsRemoved > 0 ? 1 : 0));
+    if (lastBlock.isValid())
+        endPosition = lastBlock.position() + lastBlock.length();
+    else
+        endPosition =  doc->lastBlock().position() + doc->lastBlock().length(); //doc->docHandle()->length();
+
+    bool forceHighlightOfNextBlock = false;
+
+    while (block.isValid() && (block.position() < endPosition || forceHighlightOfNextBlock)) {
+        const int stateBeforeHighlight = block.userState();
+
+        reformatBlock(block);
+
+        forceHighlightOfNextBlock = (block.userState() != stateBeforeHighlight);
+
+        block = block.next();
+    }
+
+    formatChanges.clear();
+}
+
+void SyntaxHighlighterPrivate::reformatBlock(const QTextBlock &block)
+{
+    Q_Q(SyntaxHighlighter);
+
+    Q_ASSERT_X(!currentBlock.isValid(), "SyntaxHighlighter::reformatBlock()", "reFormatBlock() called recursively");
+
+    currentBlock = block;
+
+    formatChanges.fill(QTextCharFormat(), block.length() - 1);
+    q->highlightBlock(block.text());
+    applyFormatChanges();
+
+    currentBlock = QTextBlock();
+}
+
+/*!
+    \class SyntaxHighlighter
+    \reentrant
+
+    \brief The SyntaxHighlighter class allows you to define syntax
+    highlighting rules, and in addition you can use the class to query
+    a document's current formatting or user data.
+
+    \since 4.1
+
+    \ingroup richtext-processing
+
+    The SyntaxHighlighter class is a base class for implementing
+    QTextEdit syntax highlighters.  A syntax highligher automatically
+    highlights parts of the text in a QTextEdit, or more generally in
+    a QTextDocument. Syntax highlighters are often used when the user
+    is entering text in a specific format (for example source code)
+    and help the user to read the text and identify syntax errors.
+
+    To provide your own syntax highlighting, you must subclass
+    SyntaxHighlighter and reimplement highlightBlock().
+
+    When you create an instance of your SyntaxHighlighter subclass,
+    pass it the QTextEdit or QTextDocument that you want the syntax
+    highlighting to be applied to. For example:
+
+    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/src_gui_text_SyntaxHighlighter.cpp 0
+
+    After this your highlightBlock() function will be called
+    automatically whenever necessary. Use your highlightBlock()
+    function to apply formatting (e.g. setting the font and color) to
+    the text that is passed to it. SyntaxHighlighter provides the
+    setFormat() function which applies a given QTextCharFormat on
+    the current text block. For example:
+
+    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/src_gui_text_SyntaxHighlighter.cpp 1
+
+    Some syntaxes can have constructs that span several text
+    blocks. For example, a C++ syntax highlighter should be able to
+    cope with \c{/}\c{*...*}\c{/} multiline comments. To deal with
+    these cases it is necessary to know the end state of the previous
+    text block (e.g. "in comment").
+
+    Inside your highlightBlock() implementation you can query the end
+    state of the previous text block using the previousBlockState()
+    function. After parsing the block you can save the last state
+    using setCurrentBlockState().
+
+    The currentBlockState() and previousBlockState() functions return
+    an int value. If no state is set, the returned value is -1. You
+    can designate any other value to identify any given state using
+    the setCurrentBlockState() function. Once the state is set the
+    QTextBlock keeps that value until it is set set again or until the
+    corresponding paragraph of text is deleted.
+
+    For example, if you're writing a simple C++ syntax highlighter,
+    you might designate 1 to signify "in comment":
+
+    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/src_gui_text_SyntaxHighlighter.cpp 2
+
+    In the example above, we first set the current block state to
+    0. Then, if the previous block ended within a comment, we higlight
+    from the beginning of the current block (\c {startIndex =
+    0}). Otherwise, we search for the given start expression. If the
+    specified end expression cannot be found in the text block, we
+    change the current block state by calling setCurrentBlockState(),
+    and make sure that the rest of the block is higlighted.
+
+    In addition you can query the current formatting and user data
+    using the format() and currentBlockUserData() functions
+    respectively. You can also attach user data to the current text
+    block using the setCurrentBlockUserData() function.
+    QTextBlockUserData can be used to store custom settings. In the
+    case of syntax highlighting, it is in particular interesting as
+    cache storage for information that you may figure out while
+    parsing the paragraph's text. For an example, see the
+    setCurrentBlockUserData() documentation.
+
+    \sa QTextEdit, {Syntax Highlighter Example}
+*/
+
+/*!
+    Constructs a SyntaxHighlighter with the given \a parent.
+*/
+SyntaxHighlighter::SyntaxHighlighter(QObject *parent)
+    : QObject(parent), d_ptr(new SyntaxHighlighterPrivate)
+{
+    d_ptr->q_ptr = this;
+}
+
+/*!
+    Constructs a SyntaxHighlighter and installs it on \a parent.
+    The specified QTextDocument also becomes the owner of the
+    SyntaxHighlighter.
+*/
+SyntaxHighlighter::SyntaxHighlighter(QTextDocument *parent)
+    : QObject(parent), d_ptr(new SyntaxHighlighterPrivate)
+{
+    d_ptr->q_ptr = this;
+    setDocument(parent);
+}
+
+/*!
+    Constructs a SyntaxHighlighter and installs it on \a parent 's
+    QTextDocument. The specified QTextEdit also becomes the owner of
+    the SyntaxHighlighter.
+*/
+SyntaxHighlighter::SyntaxHighlighter(QTextEdit *parent)
+    : QObject(parent), d_ptr(new SyntaxHighlighterPrivate)
+{
+    d_ptr->q_ptr = this;
+    setDocument(parent->document());
+}
+
+/*!
+    Destructor. Uninstalls this syntax highlighter from the text document.
+*/
+SyntaxHighlighter::~SyntaxHighlighter()
+{
+    setDocument(0);
+}
+
+/*!
+    Installs the syntax highlighter on the given QTextDocument \a doc.
+    A SyntaxHighlighter can only be used with one document at a time.
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::setDocument(QTextDocument *doc)
+{
+    Q_D(SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (d->doc) {
+        disconnect(d->doc, SIGNAL(contentsChange(int,int,int)),
+                   this, SLOT(_q_reformatBlocks(int,int,int)));
+
+        QTextCursor cursor(d->doc);
+        cursor.beginEditBlock();
+        for (QTextBlock blk = d->doc->begin(); blk.isValid(); blk = blk.next())
+            blk.layout()->clearAdditionalFormats();
+        cursor.endEditBlock();
+    }
+    d->doc = doc;
+    if (d->doc) {
+        connect(d->doc, SIGNAL(contentsChange(int,int,int)),
+                this, SLOT(_q_reformatBlocks(int,int,int)));
+        d->rehighlightPending = true;
+        QTimer::singleShot(0, this, SLOT(_q_delayedRehighlight()));
+    }
+}
+
+/*!
+    Returns the QTextDocument on which this syntax highlighter is
+    installed.
+*/
+QTextDocument *SyntaxHighlighter::document() const
+{
+    Q_D(const SyntaxHighlighter);
+    return d->doc;
+}
+
+/*!
+    \since 4.2
+
+    Reapplies the highlighting to the whole document.
+
+    \sa rehighlightBlock()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::rehighlight()
+{
+    Q_D(SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->doc)
+        return;
+
+    QTextCursor cursor(d->doc);
+    d->rehighlight(cursor, QTextCursor::End);
+}
+
+/*!
+    \since 4.6
+
+    Reapplies the highlighting to the given QTextBlock \a block.
+
+    \sa rehighlight()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::rehighlightBlock(const QTextBlock &block)
+{
+    Q_D(SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->doc || !block.isValid() || block.document() != d->doc)
+        return;
+
+    const bool rehighlightPending = d->rehighlightPending;
+
+    QTextCursor cursor(block);
+    d->rehighlight(cursor, QTextCursor::EndOfBlock);
+
+    if (rehighlightPending)
+        d->rehighlightPending = rehighlightPending;
+}
+
+/*!
+    \fn void SyntaxHighlighter::highlightBlock(const QString &text)
+
+    Highlights the given text block. This function is called when
+    necessary by the rich text engine, i.e. on text blocks which have
+    changed.
+
+    To provide your own syntax highlighting, you must subclass
+    SyntaxHighlighter and reimplement highlightBlock(). In your
+    reimplementation you should parse the block's \a text and call
+    setFormat() as often as necessary to apply any font and color
+    changes that you require. For example:
+
+    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/src_gui_text_SyntaxHighlighter.cpp 3
+
+    Some syntaxes can have constructs that span several text
+    blocks. For example, a C++ syntax highlighter should be able to
+    cope with \c{/}\c{*...*}\c{/} multiline comments. To deal with
+    these cases it is necessary to know the end state of the previous
+    text block (e.g. "in comment").
+
+    Inside your highlightBlock() implementation you can query the end
+    state of the previous text block using the previousBlockState()
+    function. After parsing the block you can save the last state
+    using setCurrentBlockState().
+
+    The currentBlockState() and previousBlockState() functions return
+    an int value. If no state is set, the returned value is -1. You
+    can designate any other value to identify any given state using
+    the setCurrentBlockState() function. Once the state is set the
+    QTextBlock keeps that value until it is set set again or until the
+    corresponding paragraph of text gets deleted.
+
+    For example, if you're writing a simple C++ syntax highlighter,
+    you might designate 1 to signify "in comment". For a text block
+    that ended in the middle of a comment you'd set 1 using
+    setCurrentBlockState, and for other paragraphs you'd set 0.
+    In your parsing code if the return value of previousBlockState()
+    is 1, you would highlight the text as a C++ comment until you
+    reached the closing \c{*}\c{/}.
+
+    \sa previousBlockState(), setFormat(), setCurrentBlockState()
+*/
+
+/*!
+    This function is applied to the syntax highlighter's current text
+    block (i.e. the text that is passed to the highlightBlock()
+    function).
+
+    The specified \a format is applied to the text from the \a start
+    position for a length of \a count characters (if \a count is 0,
+    nothing is done). The formatting properties set in \a format are
+    merged at display time with the formatting information stored
+    directly in the document, for example as previously set with
+    QTextCursor's functions. Note that the document itself remains
+    unmodified by the format set through this function.
+
+    \sa format(), highlightBlock()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::setFormat(int start, int count, const QTextCharFormat &format)
+{
+    Q_D(SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (start < 0 || start >= d->formatChanges.count())
+        return;
+
+    const int end = qMin(start + count, d->formatChanges.count());
+    for (int i = start; i < end; ++i)
+        d->formatChanges[i] = format;
+}
+
+/*!
+    \overload
+
+    The specified \a color is applied to the current text block from
+    the \a start position for a length of \a count characters.
+
+    The other attributes of the current text block, e.g. the font and
+    background color, are reset to default values.
+
+    \sa format(), highlightBlock()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::setFormat(int start, int count, const QColor &color)
+{
+    QTextCharFormat format;
+    format.setForeground(color);
+    setFormat(start, count, format);
+}
+
+/*!
+    \overload
+
+    The specified \a font is applied to the current text block from
+    the \a start position for a length of \a count characters.
+
+    The other attributes of the current text block, e.g. the font and
+    background color, are reset to default values.
+
+    \sa format(), highlightBlock()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::setFormat(int start, int count, const QFont &font)
+{
+    QTextCharFormat format;
+    format.setFont(font);
+    setFormat(start, count, format);
+}
+
+/*!
+    \fn QTextCharFormat SyntaxHighlighter::format(int position) const
+
+    Returns the format at \a position inside the syntax highlighter's
+    current text block.
+*/
+QTextCharFormat SyntaxHighlighter::format(int pos) const
+{
+    Q_D(const SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (pos < 0 || pos >= d->formatChanges.count())
+        return QTextCharFormat();
+    return d->formatChanges.at(pos);
+}
+
+/*!
+    Returns the end state of the text block previous to the
+    syntax highlighter's current block. If no value was
+    previously set, the returned value is -1.
+
+    \sa highlightBlock(), setCurrentBlockState()
+*/
+int SyntaxHighlighter::previousBlockState() const
+{
+    Q_D(const SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->currentBlock.isValid())
+        return -1;
+
+    const QTextBlock previous = d->currentBlock.previous();
+    if (!previous.isValid())
+        return -1;
+
+    return previous.userState();
+}
+
+/*!
+    Returns the state of the current text block. If no value is set,
+    the returned value is -1.
+*/
+int SyntaxHighlighter::currentBlockState() const
+{
+    Q_D(const SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->currentBlock.isValid())
+        return -1;
+
+    return d->currentBlock.userState();
+}
+
+/*!
+    Sets the state of the current text block to \a newState.
+
+    \sa highlightBlock()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::setCurrentBlockState(int newState)
+{
+    Q_D(SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->currentBlock.isValid())
+        return;
+
+    d->currentBlock.setUserState(newState);
+}
+
+/*!
+    Attaches the given \a data to the current text block.  The
+    ownership is passed to the underlying text document, i.e. the
+    provided QTextBlockUserData object will be deleted if the
+    corresponding text block gets deleted.
+
+    QTextBlockUserData can be used to store custom settings. In the
+    case of syntax highlighting, it is in particular interesting as
+    cache storage for information that you may figure out while
+    parsing the paragraph's text.
+
+    For example while parsing the text, you can keep track of
+    parenthesis characters that you encounter ('{[(' and the like),
+    and store their relative position and the actual QChar in a simple
+    class derived from QTextBlockUserData:
+
+    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/src_gui_text_SyntaxHighlighter.cpp 4
+
+    During cursor navigation in the associated editor, you can ask the
+    current QTextBlock (retrieved using the QTextCursor::block()
+    function) if it has a user data object set and cast it to your \c
+    BlockData object. Then you can check if the current cursor
+    position matches with a previously recorded parenthesis position,
+    and, depending on the type of parenthesis (opening or closing),
+    find the next opening or closing parenthesis on the same level.
+
+    In this way you can do a visual parenthesis matching and highlight
+    from the current cursor position to the matching parenthesis. That
+    makes it easier to spot a missing parenthesis in your code and to
+    find where a corresponding opening/closing parenthesis is when
+    editing parenthesis intensive code.
+
+    \sa QTextBlock::setUserData()
+*/
+void SyntaxHighlighter::setCurrentBlockUserData(QTextBlockUserData *data)
+{
+    Q_D(SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->currentBlock.isValid())
+        return;
+
+    d->currentBlock.setUserData(data);
+}
+
+/*!
+    Returns the QTextBlockUserData object previously attached to the
+    current text block.
+
+    \sa QTextBlock::userData(), setCurrentBlockUserData()
+*/
+QTextBlockUserData *SyntaxHighlighter::currentBlockUserData() const
+{
+    Q_D(const SyntaxHighlighter);
+    if (!d->currentBlock.isValid())
+        return 0;
+
+    return d->currentBlock.userData();
+}
+
+/*!
+    \since 4.4
+
+    Returns the current text block.
+*/
+QTextBlock SyntaxHighlighter::currentBlock() const
+{
+    Q_D(const SyntaxHighlighter);
+    return d->currentBlock;
+}
+
+#include "moc_syntaxhighlighter.cpp"
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h b/src/plugins/texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..aadbfb46d2831a913aa5a8973d809e78da2e4505
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/****************************************************************************
+**
+** Copyright (C) 2010 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
+** All rights reserved.
+** Contact: Nokia Corporation (qt-info@nokia.com)
+**
+** This file is part of the QtGui module of the Qt Toolkit.
+**
+** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:LGPL$
+** No Commercial Usage
+** This file contains pre-release code and may not be distributed.
+** You may use this file in accordance with the terms and conditions
+** contained in the Technology Preview License Agreement accompanying
+** this package.
+**
+** GNU Lesser General Public License Usage
+** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Lesser
+** General Public License version 2.1 as published by the Free Software
+** Foundation and appearing in the file LICENSE.LGPL included in the
+** packaging of this file.  Please review the following information to
+** ensure the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 requirements
+** will be met: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html.
+**
+** In addition, as a special exception, Nokia gives you certain additional
+** rights.  These rights are described in the Nokia Qt LGPL Exception
+** version 1.1, included in the file LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt in this package.
+**
+** If you have questions regarding the use of this file, please contact
+** Nokia at qt-info@nokia.com.
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+**
+** $QT_END_LICENSE$
+**
+****************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef TEXTEDITOR_SYNTAXHIGHLIGHTER_H
+#define TEXTEDITOR_SYNTAXHIGHLIGHTER_H
+
+#include "texteditor_global.h"
+#include <QtCore/qglobal.h>
+#include <QtCore/qobject.h>
+#include <QtGui/qtextobject.h>
+
+QT_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
+class QTextDocument;
+class QSyntaxHighlighterPrivate;
+class QTextCharFormat;
+class QFont;
+class QColor;
+class QTextBlockUserData;
+class QTextEdit;
+QT_END_NAMESPACE
+
+namespace TextEditor {
+
+class SyntaxHighlighterPrivate;
+
+class TEXTEDITOR_EXPORT SyntaxHighlighter : public QObject
+{
+    Q_OBJECT
+    Q_DECLARE_PRIVATE(SyntaxHighlighter)
+public:
+    SyntaxHighlighter(QObject *parent);
+    SyntaxHighlighter(QTextDocument *parent);
+    SyntaxHighlighter(QTextEdit *parent);
+    virtual ~SyntaxHighlighter();
+
+    void setDocument(QTextDocument *doc);
+    QTextDocument *document() const;
+
+public Q_SLOTS:
+    void rehighlight();
+    void rehighlightBlock(const QTextBlock &block);
+
+protected:
+    virtual void highlightBlock(const QString &text) = 0;
+
+    void setFormat(int start, int count, const QTextCharFormat &format);
+    void setFormat(int start, int count, const QColor &color);
+    void setFormat(int start, int count, const QFont &font);
+    QTextCharFormat format(int pos) const;
+
+    int previousBlockState() const;
+    int currentBlockState() const;
+    void setCurrentBlockState(int newState);
+
+    void setCurrentBlockUserData(QTextBlockUserData *data);
+    QTextBlockUserData *currentBlockUserData() const;
+
+    QTextBlock currentBlock() const;
+
+private:
+    Q_DISABLE_COPY(SyntaxHighlighter)
+    Q_PRIVATE_SLOT(d_ptr, void _q_reformatBlocks(int from, int charsRemoved, int charsAdded))
+    Q_PRIVATE_SLOT(d_ptr, void _q_delayedRehighlight())
+
+    QScopedPointer<SyntaxHighlighterPrivate> d_ptr;
+};
+
+} // end of namespace TextEditor
+
+#endif // TEXTEDITOR_SYNTAXHIGHLIGHTER_H
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.pro b/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.pro
index 931f5614903fb7b26adadd725989b337e23da659..55cb8c92c6ca1414aaad5808c5fa08d2ad907924 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.pro
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/texteditor.pro
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ SOURCES += texteditorplugin.cpp \
     normalindenter.cpp \
     indenter.cpp \
     quickfix.cpp \
+    syntaxhighlighter.cpp \
     generichighlighter/itemdata.cpp \
     generichighlighter/specificrules.cpp \
     generichighlighter/rule.cpp \
@@ -103,6 +104,7 @@ HEADERS += texteditorplugin.h \
     normalindenter.h \
     indenter.h \
     quickfix.h \
+    syntaxhighlighter.h \
     generichighlighter/reuse.h \
     generichighlighter/itemdata.h \
     generichighlighter/specificrules.h \
diff --git a/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.cpp
index 7ce605845347599d1e0066adda4621ea7cc4b71b..b272ea03aedc4d274d3b4e02893f6a2fe7df7123 100644
--- a/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.cpp
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ struct BaseAnnotationHighlighterPrivate {
 
 BaseAnnotationHighlighter::BaseAnnotationHighlighter(const ChangeNumbers &changeNumbers,
                                              QTextDocument *document) :
-    QSyntaxHighlighter(document),
+    TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(document),
     m_d(new BaseAnnotationHighlighterPrivate)
 {
     setChangeNumbers(changeNumbers);
diff --git a/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.h b/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.h
index 4119adb109812a67effac831e46b40b5504c7c39..2859745aed70a532201c1ad9c07f915a7e564ad2 100644
--- a/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/vcsbase/baseannotationhighlighter.h
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 #define BASEANNOTATIONHIGHLIGHTER_H
 
 #include "vcsbase_global.h"
-
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 #include <QtCore/QMap>
 #include <QtCore/QSet>
 #include <QtGui/QSyntaxHighlighter>
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ struct BaseAnnotationHighlighterPrivate;
 // 112: text1 <color 1>
 // 113: text2 <color 2>
 // 112: text3 <color 1>
-class VCSBASE_EXPORT BaseAnnotationHighlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class VCSBASE_EXPORT BaseAnnotationHighlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
diff --git a/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.cpp b/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.cpp
index 7628763d627427c953385a3481110de4e1a8ccef..6b1ca5dee154e1eacb18610d7199e62f28b440d9 100644
--- a/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.cpp
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ DiffFormats DiffHighlighterPrivate::analyzeLine(const QString &text) const
 // --- DiffHighlighter
 DiffHighlighter::DiffHighlighter(const QRegExp &filePattern,
                                  QTextDocument *document) :
-    QSyntaxHighlighter(document),
+    TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter(document),
     m_d(new DiffHighlighterPrivate(filePattern))
 {
 }
diff --git a/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.h b/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.h
index a1a9c3d082a1cb0f09053e8bb7d091cc5f236149..346b87ea3dba1d69405e49a9b56b1107a3aa66d4 100644
--- a/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.h
+++ b/src/plugins/vcsbase/diffhighlighter.h
@@ -31,8 +31,7 @@
 #define DIFFHIGHLIGHTER_H
 
 #include "vcsbase_global.h"
-
-#include <QtGui/QSyntaxHighlighter>
+#include <texteditor/syntaxhighlighter.h>
 #include <QtGui/QTextCharFormat>
 #include <QtCore/QVector>
 
@@ -66,7 +65,7 @@ struct DiffHighlighterPrivate;
  * \endcode
  * */
 
-class VCSBASE_EXPORT DiffHighlighter : public QSyntaxHighlighter
+class VCSBASE_EXPORT DiffHighlighter : public TextEditor::SyntaxHighlighter
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public: