Is there a valid reason for enforcing a maximum width of 80 characters in a code file, this day and age? [closed]

Answer 1

You should just do it for the sake of everyone who doesn't have a 22 inch widescreen monitor. Personally, I work on a 17 inch 4:3 monitor, and I find that more than sufficiently wide. However, I also have 3 of those monitors, so I still have lots of usable screen space.

Not only that, but the human eye actually has problems reading text if the lines are too long. It's too easy to get lost in which line you are on. Newspapers are 17 inches across (or somethign like that), but you don't see them writing all the way across the page, same goes for magazines and other printed items. It's actually easier to read if you keep the columns narrow.

Answer 2

Use proportional fonts.

I'm serious. I can usually get the equivalence of 100-120 characters in a line without sacrificing readability or printability. In fact it's even easier to read with a good font (e.g., Verdana) and syntax coloring. It looks a little strange for a few days, but you quickly get used to it.

Answer 3

Breaking at 80 characters is something you do while coding, not afterwards. Same with comments, of course. Most editors can assist you in seeing where the 80-characters limit is.

(This may be a little OT, but in Eclipse there is an option which formats the code when you save it (according to whatever rules you want). This is a little freaky at first, but after a while you start to accept that the formatting is no more in your hands than the generated code is.)

Answer 4

I think the practice of keeping code to 80 (or 79) columns was originally created to support people editing code on 80-column dumb terminals or on 80-column printouts. Those requirement have mostly gone away now, but there are still valid reasons to keep the 80 column rule:

• To avoid wrapping when copying code into email, web pages, and books.
• To view multiple source windows side-by-side or using a side-by-side diff viewer.
• To improve readability. Narrow code can be read quickly without having to scan your eyes from side to side.

I think the last point is the most important. Though displays have grown in size and resolution in the last few years, eyes haven't.

Answer 5

80 characters is a ridiculous limit these days. Split your code lines where it makes sense, not according to any arbitrary character limit.

Answer 6

I like to limit my width to 100 chars or so to allow two SxS editors on a widescreen monitor. I don't think that there is any good reason for a limit of exactly 80 chars anymore.