PEP8 79 char max
Steven D'Aprano
steve+comp.lang.python at pearwood.info
Mon Jul 29 17:09:10 EDT 2013
On Mon, 29 Jul 2013 15:43:49 -0400, Devyn Collier Johnson wrote:
> In Python programming, the PEP8 recommends limiting lines to a maximum
> of 79 characters because "There are still many devices around that are
> limited to 80 character lines"
> (http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/#code-lay-out). What devices
> cannot handle 80 or more characters on a line?
The only one I can think of is actual xterms (Ctrl-Alt-Function key
terminals on Unix and Linux). But I think that's actually a red-herring.
At least for me, I don't care about devices with 80 character lines.
(Smart phones? Or is that more likely to be 40 character lines?)
I care about being able to put multiple windows side-by-side, or a single
window with code in one pane and a class map at the side. I care about
being able to copy and paste code into an email, or Usenet post, without
it being mangled. I care about *never* having to scroll left-to-right in
order to read a line.
And most of all, I care about lines being short enough to read without
eye strain and mental fatigue from excessive horizontal width.
> Would following this
> recommendation improve script performance?
No, it is irrelevant to performance, except performance of the reader.
--
Steven
More information about the Python-list
mailing list