Designing code

[twolfson]

Disclaimer: This talk has nothing to do with JavaScript but is pretty mad science which is why I am still submitting it.

The readability argument has always frustrated me. It manifests as a subjective observation stated as an objective fact. In a lot of cases, it is more habitual/cultural than anything scientific.

Out of this frustration, I began to establish my own theories by pulling in concepts from design.

In this talk, I will outline two experiments and one theory:

Vertical rhythm

Vertical rhythm establishes a consistent sizing of and spacing between elements. This brings up a recognizable/repeatable feel to the code.

Article: http://twolfson.com/2013-05-27-bringing-vertical-rhythm-to-code

Line length

The absolute 80 character limit was introduced due to screen limitations. However, there is something similar in typography which is the ideal amount of characters per line.

I have been experimenting with relative line lengths, the amount of characters from the first non-whitespace character to the EOL.

Articles:

http://twolfson.com/2013-09-08-optimal-line-length-theory

http://twolfson.com/2013-11-26-optimal-lines-again

Objective readability

I am theorizing that if a pattern is repeated within code, it can be recognized at a faster rate which improves readability.

Article: http://twolfson.com/2013-08-15-readability:-formalized