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Intermediate Vim tips

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Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#21

Post by jdblair »

nulagrithom wrote: post #6

> I don't like excessively long lines of code (120+ in most languages) Quick straw poll on this... How many people like a line length limit? My personal preference is a fairly strict 80 (barring silly things like URLs), but I've always been met with resistance to ANY line length limit. Is it really that imposing?

I like an 80 column limit for C and python, but it starts to be a problem in C++. This says something about C++ and I don't think it's positive.

I actually also like a fairly small limit on the number of rows (around 40). If my functions and methods are too complex to understand in this much space then it's time to refactor. Of course, I usually have to work on existing code and the functions/methods are not always so compact.

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#22

Post by jitl »

nulagrithom wrote: post #6

> I don't like excessively long lines of code (120+ in most languages) Quick straw poll on this... How many people like a line length limit? My personal preference is a fairly strict 80 (barring silly things like URLs), but I've always been met with resistance to ANY line length limit. Is it really that imposing?

I like 100 or 120 characters. I feel like 80 is far too restrictive, especially in “nesty” or “chainy” languages like JavaScript and Ruby. On a 30” display I can comfortably fit three or four columns at 100 chars in Vim.

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#23

Post by appleiigs »

nulagrithom wrote: post #6

> I don't like excessively long lines of code (120+ in most languages) Quick straw poll on this... How many people like a line length limit? My personal preference is a fairly strict 80 (barring silly things like URLs), but I've always been met with resistance to ANY line length limit. Is it really that imposing?

In python, 80 feels like reading a newspaper column. I use 4 spaces as an indent... with an indent for def():, try:, and couple if statements, I'm already 16 characters in.

Plus python seems to use super_descriptive_names_which_take_up_alot_of.space()

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#24

Post by drbojingle »

baby_wipe wrote: post #7

I’m probably the minority here but I don’t like to customize my Vim too much. 1 - it takes time. 2 - half the reason I like Vim is because I can use it anywhere. If I’m so used to a highly customized setup, then I am going to feel out of place when I log on somewhere else.

My vim is pretty customized but I can't say I have any trouble personally with vims that aren't mine.

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#26

Post by u801e »

nulagrithom wrote: post #6

> I don't like excessively long lines of code (120+ in most languages) Quick straw poll on this... How many people like a line length limit? My personal preference is a fairly strict 80 (barring silly things like URLs), but I've always been met with resistance to ANY line length limit. Is it really that imposing?

I prefer the 79 or 80 character line limit because it makes it much easier to read unified diffs pertaining to code changes. It also makes viewing files side by side much easier as well.

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#27

Post by hi-im-mi-ih »

baby_wipe wrote: post #7

I’m probably the minority here but I don’t like to customize my Vim too much. 1 - it takes time. 2 - half the reason I like Vim is because I can use it anywhere. If I’m so used to a highly customized setup, then I am going to feel out of place when I log on somewhere else.

I agree with this, I use plain GVim on all my machines. I'm not interested in plugins that will slow it down - it's fine the way it is.

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#29

Post by minitech »

nulagrithom wrote: post #6

> I don't like excessively long lines of code (120+ in most languages) Quick straw poll on this... How many people like a line length limit? My personal preference is a fairly strict 80 (barring silly things like URLs), but I've always been met with resistance to ANY line length limit. Is it really that imposing?

I break lines if it looks like they’re getting too long, where it feels right to do so. Setting a fixed number of columns causes people to align hanging lines to the right in my experience:

  some_example_code = LongTypeName(argument_one=1,
                                   argument_two=2,
                                   argument_three=3)
(pretend that’s 80 columns), resulting in this mess when I try to look at it in a narrower view:

  some_example_code = LongTypeName(argument_on
  ↳ e=1,
                                   argument_tw
  ↳ o=2,
                                   argument_th
  ↳ ree=3)
Turning off word wrap doesn’t help, because then it’s an equally painful constant two-character scroll. What does help is creating indented blocks where it feels right, and letting other lines just naturally be long.

  some_example_code = LongTypeName(
      argument_one=1,
      argument_two=2,
      argument_three=3,
  )

  some_example_code = LongTypeName(
      "just a string that happens to be long; some people introduce acceptable percentages of string literals for long lines, but it’s really not necessary. let word wrap take care of it!")
(Plus: specific column counts depend on the size of your indentation.)

Re: Intermediate Vim tips

#30

Post by lunchables »

baby_wipe wrote: post #7

I’m probably the minority here but I don’t like to customize my Vim too much. 1 - it takes time. 2 - half the reason I like Vim is because I can use it anywhere. If I’m so used to a highly customized setup, then I am going to feel out of place when I log on somewhere else.

Most people store their dot files (including their vim config) in a git repo and just check out a copy on any machine they use. That's what I do (git+stow). I can be up and running on a new system in just a few seconds.
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