Re: Is 80-column source code formatting still standard ?

"Minh Van Le" <[email protected]> writes:

> I asked because Oracle SQL Developer has an 80 column watermark and
> wondering if people really use that shit.

Tell us how you really feel. ;)

In any case, generally, a reasonable column limit is considered good by
many coding standards documents.  80 is still a common choice.

> I didn't think it was still a religious debate. I thought people've
> moved on from 80 columns.

Generally not, for a variety of reasons.  In any case, a simple rule of
thumb for you: *any* coding standards discussion, no matter how trivial,
will be a religious debate to some people.

> Also I'm doing some VBScript for a project and adhering to Hungarian
> notation and good variable naming conventions are stretching my lines
> to 100 columns. The objects I create and classes I'm referencing are
> sometimes already 30 or 40 characters per assignment.

My personal take would be that your variable and class names are likely
to be too large if they are using 30 to 40 characters in declaration.

You see, this, too, is a religious debate, and one that is not likely to
produce more than heat if we debate it at length.  From experience,
anyhow.


So, if you really want support for a position that a larger column limit
is better go search the Internet.  I can pretty much guarantee that you
will find coding standards from prestigious projects, companies and
developers that support your position.

By carefully selecting those, and not the similar set that advocate the
lower limit, you should be able to support your argument.


(Also, you can effectively demolish your opposition by pointing out that
 their supporting evidence is hardly uniform, and a quick google
 later...)

Regards,
        Daniel
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