Is 78 characters still a good option? Was: [Haskell-cafe] breaking too long lines

[Felipe Lessa]

On Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 07:38:59PM +0400, Miguel Mitrofanov wrote:
>> Also, I don't mistake the transformers as different
>> parameters because of the parenthesis
>
> You should really try Lisp. In my opinion, parenthesis are a kind of
> noise - too small, too many.

I don't try lisp because I don't like a lot of parenthesis as
well.  However the problem isn't with parenthesis, it is with
their excessive usage.  In this case they're helpful, IMO.

>> and because they're transformers, reading their names gives
>> you a clue of how they may be used.
>
> So... you really think transformers CAN'T be parameters? You're going to
> be surprised.
[...]
> Whoever knows Haskell - no offense - expects to see both.

Haha :), so "giving a clue of how they may be used" means
"meaning that they will always be fully applied" now?  Sorry, but
don't go hostile on me putting words on my mouth.

How do you *usually* see transformers being used?  Questions of
how you read something in a glance have to touch the question of
how much you *expect* to see something. So, if I expect to see

data D = Constructor Something
                     Other
                     Here

or

data D = Constructor {field1 :: Something
                     ,field2 :: Other
                     ,field3 :: Here}

then I can misread

data D = Constructor (Something
                      (Other
                       Here))

This is Daniel's point: you misread it because you expected
something else.  So, was Daniel trying to say that you can't have
one field on multiple lines?  Not at all.  When I see two or more
transformers, I expect to see them nested, and probably most
other people have the same expectations.

--
Felipe.