Chapter 6: Formatting Code for Easy Reading

How to format code can be a divisive topic, especially in a language designed for programmers' happiness. In this chapter, you'll learn about different mindsets for code formatting, the advantages of consistency, the disadvantages of arbitrary limits, and the trade-offs of code formatting enforcement. You'll also learn about Ruby's built-in code formatting checker.

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

  • Recognizing different perspectives of code formatting
  • Learning how syntactic consistency affects maintainability
  • Understanding the consequences of using arbitrary limits
  • Checking basic code formatting with Ruby
  • Realizing the actual importance of code formatting

By the end of this chapter, ...

Get Polished Ruby Programming now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.