Input is a great programming font. It also lets you customize a bunch of options (e.g. slashed-0, loopy-a or g, serifs on i/l, etc). Free download for private use[0].
Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
91–100 of 174 posts
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#92Is it possible to use a font like this in a terminal emulator?
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#93Iosevka, a customizable monospace font, also has quasi-proportional (almost monospace) varients: Iosevka Aile and Iosevka Etoile.
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
I long ago concluded that trying to line stuff up in columns like this in code is a mistake. It often results in realignment of blocks for small changes so what should be a small diff in the git history ends up being big. Only rarely is the vertical alignment useful because mostly code isn't read vertically. Used in moderation, the reverse Christmas tree style used in the Linux kernel can be as good for readability (…
I stopped manually formatting code long ago, just accept what the code formatter tool decides is good enough. Saves a lot of time.
In circumstances, and depending on configuration, the code formatter tool may still aim for alignment, such as assignment operators on subsequent lines. Whether you like that or not, for me the question still stands: how does that jive with "almost monospaced".
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
I long ago concluded that trying to line stuff up in columns like this in code is a mistake. It often results in realignment of blocks for small changes so what should be a small diff in the git history ends up being big. Only rarely is the vertical alignment useful because mostly code isn't read vertically. Used in moderation, the reverse Christmas tree style used in the Linux kernel can be as good for readability (…
> I long ago concluded that trying to line stuff up in columns like this in code is a mistake. It often results in realignment of blocks for small changes so what should be a small diff in the git history ends up being big. Seems wrongheaded to me; that's the same reason Elm wanted you to write arrays like this: [item1 ,item2 ,item3 ,item4 ] instead of a sane way. It means adding or removing an element only changes o…
Many languages also support a comma after the last item, meaning you can still have one line diffs and have a sane reading structure:
[
item1,
item2,
item3,
item4,
]Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
This just seems like a limitation of the technology. When you change the width of one column, the whole table should realign, without any changes to those parts of the file (it's just about how it's displayed). I recall reading something about "tab stops" that solved this problem, but I don't think there are any mainstream implementations of it.
Writing programs by manipulating text is the actual limitation of the technology here, alignment is just a minor detail by comparison.
That's often heard, but what's the alternative? So far every other alternative has been more limiting, not?
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I stopped manually formatting code long ago, just accept what the code formatter tool decides is good enough. Saves a lot of time.
In circumstances, and depending on configuration, the code formatter tool may still aim for alignment, such as assignment operators on subsequent lines. Whether you like that or not, for me the question still stands: how does that jive with "almost monospaced".
I've been using proportional fonts in programming for about ten years. I stopped doing things like
abc = 1
d = 2
Things like
func(arg1,
arg2,
arg3)
1) my text editor (emacs) aligns those lines for me (probably any programmer's editor does) so at least I don't have to do precision work
2) I ended up writing code like
func(
arg1,
arg2,
arg3
)
If the arguments are few (two or three) and there are no named arguments I don't break them on multiple lines.
The result is that no coworker ever complained about my code.
Languages with a formatter (Elixir) solve the problem once and for all and align well with both kinds of fonts.
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s a good point. Something close to a "properly fitted proportional version of iA Quattro" might be Nitti Grotesk. https://www.boldmonday.com/typeface/nitti-grotesk/
It's like this: A) Here is an unbaked cake. B) Here is a half-baked cake. But, the argument they are making is B) is better than C) Fully baked cake. No fully baked cake is presented for evaluation. You can't use Nitti Grotesk, a cookie batter, to make an argument here either for a fair comparison. It's an entirely different thing. In order to do a proper comparison, they should finish the kerning job and present the…
Similarly, the image with Input Mono caught my eye: https://i0.wp.com/blakewatson.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022...
The word "chain" looks more like "cha in" which just makes the font seem unfinished to me.
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's like this: A) Here is an unbaked cake. B) Here is a half-baked cake. But, the argument they are making is B) is better than C) Fully baked cake. No fully baked cake is presented for evaluation. You can't use Nitti Grotesk, a cookie batter, to make an argument here either for a fair comparison. It's an entirely different thing. In order to do a proper comparison, they should finish the kerning job and present the…
Similarly, the image with Input Mono caught my eye: https://i0.wp.com/blakewatson.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022... The word "chain" looks more like "cha in" which just makes the font seem unfinished to me.
This stuff is like nails on a chalkboard to me. It is extremely unpleasant :-) It makes me appreciate good typefaces more, my favorites being anything designed by Matthew Carter. Legendary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Carter
Re: Almost monospaced: the perfect fonts for writing
#100I use iA Writer Duo for writing prose and fiction a lot. If you're willing to pay for typefaces, though, there's a really good "almost typewriter" font called Triplicate, which comes in four versions -- the original, a slight variation with the same metrics as Courier, a "code" version that has a few characters changed to be better for coding (this is a great alternative to the more expensive Operator Mono, in my exp…
A link for those interested: https://practicaltypography.com/triplicate.html