Why code lines still should not exceed 79 characters (opens in new tab)

(moaboelez.medium.com)

3 pointsmariambarouma3y ago4 comments

4 comments

I do a soft limit of 80, typically only ever exceeded by a comment w/ a link in it that might bust the cap.

Despite using a 4K display, it is nice to be able to put individual code windows side by side, multiple times, and be able to read it all w/o horizontal scrolling.

I also feel that a lot of code reaching past 80 characters could be refactored.

sylware3y ago

Kind of true, but 79 is really damn short after a few decades of coding. I did put myself a "soft" limit up to 100 chars.

I like powers of two and 128 felt really too much and 64 was really too short.

uberman3y ago

I kept my limit to 128 or 132 until I had to work in python. Any language that makes whitespace significant coupled with reasonably descripting naming makes that limit impractical imho.

sylware3y ago

Well, you would have to break your code into a lot of functions to keep indentation reasonable.

Actually, this is what it is expected in the linux kernel (but some parts did fail that by A LOT).

Most of the time, it is all about complex expressions with explicit(long) variable names.

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4 comments

zenosmosis3y ago

I do a soft limit of 80, typically only ever exceeded by a comment w/ a link in it that might bust the cap.

Despite using a 4K display, it is nice to be able to put individual code windows side by side, multiple times, and be able to read it all w/o horizontal scrolling.

I also feel that a lot of code reaching past 80 characters could be refactored.

sylware3y ago

Kind of true, but 79 is really damn short after a few decades of coding. I did put myself a "soft" limit up to 100 chars.

I like powers of two and 128 felt really too much and 64 was really too short.

uberman3y ago

I kept my limit to 128 or 132 until I had to work in python. Any language that makes whitespace significant coupled with reasonably descripting naming makes that limit impractical imho.

sylware3y ago

Well, you would have to break your code into a lot of functions to keep indentation reasonable.

Actually, this is what it is expected in the linux kernel (but some parts did fail that by A LOT).

Most of the time, it is all about complex expressions with explicit(long) variable names.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse