But no, 80-column terminals in 2020 isn't “reasonable” any more
The problem with overly wide lines is that it hurts readability because it&#x27;s harder to find the next line when scanning your eyes from right back to left. Take it from the world of books:<p><i>This study may be helpful:<p>&gt; This study examined the effects of line length on reading performance. Reading rates were found to be fastest at 95 cpl. Readers reported either liking or disliking the extreme line lengths (35 cpl, 95 cpl). Those that liked the 35 cpl indicated that the short line length facilitated &quot;faster&quot; reading and was easier because it required less eye movement. Those that liked the 95 cpl stated that they liked having more information on a page at one time. Although some participants reported that they felt like they were reading faster at 35 cpl, this condition actually resulted in the slowest reading speed.<p>The Effects of Line Length on Reading Online News[1]<p>1. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;psychology.wichita.edu&#x2F;surl&#x2F;usabilitynews&#x2F;72&#x2F;LineLength.asp" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;psychology.wichita.edu&#x2F;surl&#x2F;usabilitynews&#x2F;72&#x2F;LineLeng...</a><p>For slabs of body copy, I like about 70 characters per line, but anything in the 50-80 range seems good. I also think justified text is harder to read, due to the lack of unique shapes to track on the right side of text — it&#x27;s far easier to lose your place.</i><p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;graphicdesign.stackexchange.com&#x2F;questions&#x2F;13724&#x2F;recommended-column-width-for-text-reading-digital-vs-printed" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;graphicdesign.stackexchange.com&#x2F;questions&#x2F;13724&#x2F;reco...</a><p>I still often code on a 13&quot; Macbook where I can open a pair of side-by-side windows in my editor with the dock on the side and get about 95 characters into each window. I typically code in Python and use a 4 space tab and a font legible to my 48 year-old eyes w&#x2F;o reading glasses. On my external monitor, I take advantage of the extra width to open additional windows.<p>So I dunno, still prefer 80-88 characters for coding, 100 max.<p>The grep thing seems like a red-herring. Use grep&#x27;s -A, -B, and -C options to get more context.