Related is the question of why newspapers arrange their text in columns. According to another stackexchange thread†, studies as far back as the 1880s indicated that the optimal width for reading prose is 3.5 to 4 inches.
Of course, code isn't prose, but I'm still a fanatic about the 80-character limit. To assist with keeping lines of code short and sweet, I will often introduce aptly-named temporary variables and let the compiler sort out what's actually to happen.
I can easily fit four 80x84 windows on my external monitor (DejaVuSansMono 13 pt).
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Related is the question of why newspapers arrange their text in columns. According to another stackexchange thread†, studies as far back as the 1880s indicated that the optimal width for reading prose is 3.5 to 4 inches.
Of course, code isn't prose, but I'm still a fanatic about the 80-character limit. To assist with keeping lines of code short and sweet, I will often introduce aptly-named temporary variables and let the compiler sort out what's actually to happen.
I can easily fit four 80x84 windows on my external monitor (DejaVuSansMono 13 pt).
†http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/3553/why-do...