[Python-ideas] 80 character line width vs. something wider

[Ron Adam]

Aahz wrote:
> On Thu, May 21, 2009, Ron Adam wrote:
>> Aahz wrote:
>>> On Thu, May 21, 2009, Raymond Hettinger wrote:
>>>> I'm mostly having light-hearted fun with it.  The conversation wasn't
>>>> going anywhere from the start.  I do find it funny that so many
>>>> think 80 is exactly the right number regardless of other whitespace
>>>> conventions or regardless of the language being used.
>>> If that's what you think people are saying, I don't think you are using
>>> sufficient care in your reading.  It seems to me that people are mostly
>>> saying that eighty columns is enough for many purposes, there are
>>> problems that would come from increasing the number of columns, and there
>>> aren't any solid arguments that clearly demonstrate that the gains
>>> outweigh the detriments.
>> Well, on Ubuntu I use the gnome terminal which has line width settings of 
>> 80 and 132.  It doesn't have any settings in-between.  So I use 80X24  
>> because it gives me plenty of room to see other windows.
> 
> Actually, you can have different window sizes, either by dragging with a
> mouse or using the command-line option --geometry.

Heh, I'm sure I've done that quite a few times and then forgotten about it.


>> I found that if I use small font sizes, I tend to lean closer to the  
>> monitor than I should and that causes my neck and back to ache if I'm at 
>> my computer for longer than a few hours.  So although I can reduce the 
>> font size and get a lot more characters across the screen, it is better 
>> for my health if I don't do that.
> 
> Very this.