== Why 80? ==

I know there needs to be a limit, but it strikes me that the days of punch cards are long gone. Does anyone have a browser with that little display real estate these days? --[[User:Dgamey|Dgamey]] 01:53, 22 September 2010 (UTC) :We used 80 characters as a style rule at RIT also. It's mostly for terminal windows which usually start at 80 characters. I think it's a fairly widely used standard. I know Eclipse (the IDE) defaults to breaking lines at 80 characters when you use its built-in code formatter. --[[User:Mwn3d|Mwn3d]] 03:37, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

: I don't like 80 either! But I hope to splash-out on one of those new tablets at some time with maybe a seven-inch screen and surf the web at pub way-points whilst out getting more exercise. I now recognise that smaller screens on portable equipment might benefit from RC line restrictions. Self-servingly yours --[[User:Paddy3118|Paddy3118]] 05:57, 22 September 2010 (UTC) :: Hah! I remember trying to use RC on my old phone; it was painful (it could just about manage 30 characters wide IIRC). I don't suggest aiming for that narrow a display, but trying to keep things below 80 is a reasonable goal, especially for parts of the code that are actually key to the solution. (I'm less excited about keeping method declarations, comments, etc. short; they're typically not very interesting anyway.) –[[User:Dkf|Donal Fellows]] 13:35, 22 September 2010 (UTC)