Reasons for source code line length limits

[Ben Finney]

Chris Angelico <rosuav at gmail.com> writes:

> Sure, a 500-character line is less readable than a 75-character line.

So we agree that merely being able to *display* more text on a line is
not a reason to have arbitrarily-long lines of code. Good!

> But how much difference is there between 79 and, say, 90? I'd say
> there's more variation between different people than that.

Of course there is. The argument then becomes one of picking a standard
and sticking to it, since doing so saves an enormous amount of wasted
time arguing.

Much as we can agree that driving a vehicle on public roads at 500 km/h
is too fast, but there is variation among people as to exactly how fast
they can safely drive a vehicle.

Once we've agreed there *is* such a thing as a harmfully-fast speed and
that we should forbid speeds that are too fast, the variations of driver
skill matter much less than picking one speed limit for a zone, telling
everyone they must stick to it, and ending pointless arguments about
where exactly to put the threshold.

-- 
 \             “I have never imputed to Nature a purpose or a goal, or |
  `\    anything that could be understood as anthropomorphic.” —Albert |
_o__)                                    Einstein, unsent letter, 1955 |
Ben Finney