>While working on the "isaexec" patch I stumbled over the following
>issue:
>-- snip --
>% cstyle -pP isaexec.c
>isaexec.c: 67: line > 80 characters
>-- snip --
>I'd like to propose to relax this limit, making 132 characters the
>maximum line length in OS/Net.
NO WAY.
>The 80 char limit is IMO outdated and it may be less annoying to use a
>slightly larger boundary here (the isaexec patch itself is no good
>example why the 80 char limit is bad, but there are other examples where
>the readability can be seriously damaged by the enforcement of the
>current length limitation).
Sorry; my xterms are still 80 characters and for good reason.
It allows me to have many more xterms open side-by-side so I can see much
more stuff at the same time.
By relaxing the limit to 132 characters you are *forcing* everybody to
switch to 132 wide xterms. (Or to face code which is much less readable
than code formatted to fit 80 columns; 132 wrapped to 80 is just not
a pretty sight.
And while you argue that "132 columns is more readable", the 80 column
viewer is exposed to code which is much less readable.
I don't think "modern" comes into this in anyway; if your lines need
to be 132 columns wide you may be nesting code too deeply, may be using
identifiers which are too verbose.
Since most lines easily fit within the 80 column rule, you'd also
be wasting copious amounts of precious screen real estate.
I think you'll find that the C-style rules are not open for negotiation.
While I don't agree with some of them (such as the () required for return
and the space after sizeof, in years I have learned to appreciate why
the rules are there: they give consistent code; this code is consistently
readable. Variations in style hamper the accessibility and maintainability;
the style was fixed in stone precisely because the maintainers vary over
time.
Everyone pays a price for this; I pay in spaces after sizeof and extra ()
with return for consistency's sake; you pay for the 80 columns so that people
like me can more easily read and maintain your code.
Possibly the best way to put this is:
"The C-style is arbitrary and fixed".
Casper
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