Comment by pif

4 days ago

> (1) Most modern languages discourage or forbid symbol/emoji characters in identifiers

> (2) When it comes to color,

Call me boomer if you wish, but if you can't grasp the value of having your code readable on a 24 rows by 80 columns, black and white screen, you are not a software developer. You are not even a programmer: at most, you are a prompt typist for ChatGPT.

While I agree that, if the function at hand can’t fit in a 25x80 window it most likely should be broken in smaller functions, there are kinder ways to say that.

I also joke God made the VT100 with 80 columns for a reason.

  • ... For the reason that IBM made their 1928 card with 80 columns, in an attempt to increase the storage efficiency of Hollerith’s 45-column card without increasing its size?

    That said, ~60 characters per printed line has been the typographer’s recommendation for much longer. Which is why typographers dislike Times and derivatives when used on normal-sized single-column pages, as that typeface was made to squeeze more characters into narrow newspaper columns (it’s in the name).

    • The fact that the claim is wrong on multiple levels (IBM punchcards, VT100 did 132 columns as well) is part of the fun.