Beyond 79 Characters: Exploring Alternatives for Wrapping Long Lines in Python

Readability:

• Horizontal Scrolling: Long lines can force developers to scroll horizontally, making it difficult to read and understand the code structure.
• Code Comparison: When working with multiple files side-by-side, shorter lines enable easier comparison and analysis.
• Focus and Comprehension: Breaking down code into smaller visual units helps readers focus on individual sections and comprehend the overall logic more easily.

Compatibility:

• Historical Tools and Consoles: Early programming tools and consoles often had a display width of 80 characters. Keeping lines under 79 characters ensures compatibility with these legacy systems.
• Version Control Systems: When viewing code changes in a version control system like Git, shorter lines allow for clearer diffs (differences between versions) and easier identification of changes.

Consistency and Style:

• Maintaining Consistency: PEP-8 promotes a consistent coding style across different projects and developers. This shared baseline improves code readability and collaboration within the Python community.
• Aesthetics and Structure: Shorter lines can improve the visual appearance and organization of your code, making it feel more structured and organized.

Examples:

Long line (not recommended):

def calculate_total_price(products, discount_rate):
    total_price = 0
    for product in products:
        total_price += product['price'] * (1 - discount_rate)
    return total_price

Shorter lines (recommended):

def calculate_total_price(products, discount_rate):
    total_price = 0
    for product in products:
        total_price += product['price'] * (1 - discount_rate)
    return total_price

Alternative Wrapping:

While PEP-8 suggests 79 characters, some teams might agree on a higher limit like 99 characters. This provides more flexibility while still maintaining readability and general guidelines. Remember, consistency within your project is key.

Related Issues:

• Wrapping logic in long lines: If a complex expression or function call becomes too long even with proper indentation, consider splitting it onto multiple lines for clarity.
• Line breaks in docstrings: PEP-8 suggests wrapping docstrings at 72 characters for better readability.

Conclusion:

PEP-8's 79-character line length recommendation encourages writing Python code that is readable, maintainable, and consistent. While not a hard rule, following this guideline can significantly improve the quality and understandability of your code for yourself and others.