onward@fsg.UUCP (Onward Lam) (11/26/90)
We've seen quick a bit on hardcopy/productivity discussion. How about a discussion on Editors and productivity (NO, not the vi vs. emacs religious debate), but more like size of terminals (ie. lines x columns), or windows/xterms vs ascii terminals. Here's to start it off: 1. 24x80 is okay for programming, but painful for debugging (you need the paper printouts then). 2. Bigger displays (or windows), eg. 48x80 is much better for debugging. Reason: With 48 lines, you can see more of the code around where you think the error is, and keeping it on one screen allows the brain to take it all in without constantly forward/back paging. Plus, we were taught (weren't we?) to write short functions, so 48 lines may actually be most of the function already. Argument here is on what the upper limit of lines is before you overtax the brain/eyes (60 lines perhaps) A small flame: it may perhaps be conjectured that a 24x80 ascii, after a split screen is almost counterproductive ?? 3. Using multiple windows during development: convenience or distraction? Personally I prefer big screens. I used to use hp300 workstations as a 49x128 line terminal and it was GREAT. I tried Suns (34 lines) but their emulation was painfully slow - (? Why is the SLC console terminal emulation so @!*# slow ?) ....guess I'm not that into windows yet Hm.., wonder if someone's done research on this... About paper I prefer the availability of real lineprinters (66x132 fanfold 11"x14.5" type). Some of you out there probably thinks every installation has one, which is no longer true with the proliferation of Laserjets. I almost had to beg my managers to keep the lineprinter at my last job, since most people were printing their code out on Laserjets. ----------------------------------------------- -- Onward Lam ..!uunet!fsg!onward -- -- Of course these are my personal views :-) -- -- I dont't deserve to be flamed, yet. Do I? -- -----------------------------------------------
chip@tct.uucp (Chip Salzenberg) (11/30/90)
[ Followups to comp.misc ] According to onward@fsg.UUCP (Onward Lam): >How about a discussion on Editors and productivity (NO, not the >vi vs. emacs religious debate), but more like size of terminals >(ie. lines x columns), or windows/xterms vs ascii terminals. I use 25x80 exclusively, but it's either SCO's "mscreen" program with our home-grown multi-screen ANSI terminal emulation program, or KA9Q over an Ethernet, hacked for multi-screen ANSI emulation. As a result, I have at least four sessions available simulaneously, and switching among them is as easy as <Alt-Fx>. I find this arrangement close to ideal for development and debugging, since I can almost literally do four things at once. As to line count: I prefer four screens of 80x25 to fewer screens with more characters, since I find tiny characters distractingly difficult to read. -- Chip Salzenberg at Teltronics/TCT <chip@tct.uucp>, <uunet!pdn!tct!chip> "I've been cranky ever since my comp.unix.wizards was removed by that evil Chip Salzenberg." -- John F. Haugh II
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (11/30/90)
In article <12332@fsg.UUCP> onward@fsg.UUCP (Onward Lam) writes: >About paper I prefer the availability of real lineprinters >(66x132 fanfold 11"x14.5" type). Some of you out there probably >thinks every installation has one, which is no longer true with >the proliferation of Laserjets... Hey, LaserJets are far superior to dealing with acres of paper with an occasional black mark here and there. I put 310 lines of output (in a two-column format, with a small font) per 8.5x11 page with an LJ. I can spread out a 1000-line program on my desk, with all of it visible. Try doing that with those old 11x14 bedsheets. -- "The average pointer, statistically, |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
shankar@hpclscu.HP.COM (Shankar Unni) (11/30/90)
> I HATE laserjet printouts, and I have a lot of C code > 80 chars/line. > > But I work in an office environment... is there such a thing as > 132-column fan-fold, quiet, laserjet printing? I also hate having to > staple my papers 8-( Most laserjets have an "lp" font, so the following set of escape sequences (which you can make your spooler prefix to the file) should do the trick (not all of these may be necessary, but specifying all of them makes for less doubt about what you get out, in case your LaserJet has the lp font in different sizes): \033(s0T # select lp font \033&l1O # select landscape \033(s16.66H # 16.66 horizontal pitch \033(s8.5V # 8.5 point size \033&l66F # 66 lines per page \033&l5.6C # vertical motion index 5.6 \033&a4L # left margin 4 \033&a9999M # huge right margin \033&l2E # top margin 2 (The "\033" is an ESCAPE character (octal 033)). Seems like a lot, doesn't it? There's tons of stuff you can do with escape sequences in a LaserJet - the manual should have details of all this stuff. ----- Shankar Unni E-Mail: Hewlett-Packard California Language Lab. Internet: shankar@hpda.hp.com Phone : (408) 447-5797 UUCP: ...!hplabs!hpda!shankar
gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn) (11/30/90)
In article <1990Nov29.223825.26372@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >Hey, LaserJets are far superior to dealing with acres of paper ... We like listings "two-up" on Imagen laser printers. You can punch the edges and keep them in an ordinary notebook binder, too.
ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) (12/08/90)
Try printing three columns in landscape mode on a laser printer. If you use a tiny font, you can get 80 characters in each column, and some large number of lines. As for size of the screen, I prefer computers that allow me to have several screens. For example, on my Mac, I've got a mono screen (actually, it supports greyscale, but I never use that). This lets me have about 40x110 text display. Next to this I've got the color screen. This is good for another 40x110 (actually, slightly less because the menu bar is on this screen). If I decide I need more room, I'll get a two page display and video card. I'll still have three NuBus slots for more video expansion should that fail to satisfy my appetite for screen space... This sort of arrangement has several advantages compared to the usual "get a real big screen" strategy that most people seem to follow. First of all, it costs a lot less. Those big screens are expensive. There's no way, for example, that I could afford a single large color monitor and a video card to drive it, but a 640x480 color monitor and 24 bit video card is not that expensive. Second, it lets one optimize better for what one is doing. For example, I find most color screens not as nice as a good mono display for working with text. With the multi-screen approach, I get to have a good mono screen where I do my primary editing, and I can use the other screen for looking at header files and stuff like that, where I can tolerate a little less quality on the text display. It's also easier to arrange. I don't have *room* for a big screen, but I can fit a couple of smaller screens in. Tim Smith
mat@mole-end.UUCP (Mark A Terribile) (12/09/90)
> >We've seen quick a bit on hardcopy/productivity discussion. > >About paper I prefer the availability of real lineprinters > >(66x132 fanfold 11"x14.5" type). Some of you out there probably > >thinks every installation has one, which is no longer true with > >the proliferation of Laserjets. I almost had to beg my managers > >to keep the lineprinter at my last job, since most people were > >printing their code out on Laserjets. > I HATE laserjet printouts, and I have a lot of C code > 80 chars/line. > But I work in an office environment... is there such a thing as > 132-column fan-fold, quiet, laserjet printing? I also hate having to > staple my papers 8-( Well, I vote for the laser printer (so long as it's not the !@#$%^&*()_+= HP with 60 lines/page instead of 66). I like the clean, sharp printing, printing which fades sharply enough to force the toner cartridge to be replaced, instead of hanging on with a ribbon for five times its rated life, and I am careful not to wrap code past 79 columns. If I'm working on a Sun it doesn't matter, since I can stretch the windows and get over 190 columns, but I don't do everything on the Sun (I wish I did ... the Sun 4/Sparc is NICE) and so I keep code to less than 79 positions/line. As far as the stapling problem: I use small binder clips, which I pull off for re-use when I chuck the listings (in the recycling bin, of course). One reason that I no longer like fan-fold is that I've been forced of late to work on the fashionable modular office furniture, and the desks are too shallow to open fan-fold well. Otherwise, I think I would prefer laser- print fanfold! -- (This man's opinions are his own.) From mole-end Mark Terribile