Maintaining Maximum Line Length When Using Tabs Instead of Spaces?

[Aahan Krish]

Hi Ned,

> I'm curious why you care about the "79 characters" part of PEP8 if you don't care about the "use spaces" part of PEP8.

It's just that I don't like arbitrary rules. IMHO, spaces aren't
"better than" tabs, and people should refrain from saying that. Both
have their fair bit of disadvantages and it finally comes down to
personal/team preference or consistency.

I like tabs because they are flexible. As of now I am still
considering spaces for two reasons—(1) maintaining a standard
line-length of 79-120 characters; (2) Even if I use tabs, I "may" need
spaces for aligning.

I have no major projects now, so I am free to decide, and am taking my
time for a well-thought decision.

As for why I care the "79 chars" part of PEP 8:

- Coding in terminals and VIM with multiple windows open.

- Avoiding horizontal scrollbars for code blocks on the web; GitHub
for instance. E.g.
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/kernel/async.c -- That
is good!

- Readability; The same reason why people suggest "short paragraphs",
i.e. allow readers to quickly go through your content, or in my case,
code.

Best,
Aahan