Do you have a hard time keeping to 80 columns with Python? [closed]

Question

I find myself breaking strings constantly just to get them on the next line. And of course when I go to change those strings (think logging messages), I have to reformat the breaks to keep them within the 80 columns.

How do most people deal with this?

Answer 1

I recommend trying to stay true to 80-column, but not at any cost. Sometimes, like for logging messages, it just makes more sense to keep 'em long than breaking up. But for most cases, like complex conditions or list comprehensions, breaking up is a good idea because it will help you divide the complex logic to more understandable parts. It's easier to understand:

print sum(n for n in xrange(1000000) 
             if palindromic(n, bits_of_n) and palindromic(n, digits))

Than:

print sum(n for n in xrange(1000000) if palindromic(n, bits_of_n) and palindromic(n, digits))

It may look the same to you if you've just written it, but after a few days those long lines become hard to understand.

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Finally, while PEP 8 dictates the column restriction, it also says:

A style guide is about consistency. Consistency with this style guide is important. Consistency within a project is more important. Consistency within one module or function is most important.

But most importantly: know when to be inconsistent -- sometimes the style guide just doesn't apply. When in doubt, use your best judgment. Look at other examples and decide what looks best. And don't hesitate to ask!