A desperate lunge for on-topic-ness

[Ben Finney]

Jean-Michel Pichavant <jeanmichel at sequans.com> writes:

> The 79 char limit purpose is to allow someone to read the code on a 80
> char terminal (and allow old printers to print the code).

There is a very good reason for a strict line width limit regardless of
terminal size: scanning long lines is cognitively more difficult than
scanning shorter lines.

This doesn't mean we should keep reducing the length of our lines, of
course; obviously there needs to be enough room on a line to be
expressive. But it does mean that lines which are too long are not kind
to the reader.

Another good reason: Even if you have a large terminal, you will often
need to compare distinct sections of code. Knowing that code won't
exceed 80 columns means that you can lay several windows of code
side-by-side, for a three-way merge, for example.

-- 
 \      “Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a |
  `\        finite world is either a madman or an economist.” —Kenneth |
_o__)                                                         Boulding |
Ben Finney