Date:         Fri, 6 Nov 1998 09:32:59 +0000
Reply-To:     "R. Allan Reese" <R.A.Reese@GRI.HULL.AC.UK>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         "R. Allan Reese" <R.A.Reese@GRI.HULL.AC.UK>
Subject:      Re: syntax line lengths
In-Reply-To:  <4049006674.910287106@ria11.ssw.buffalo.edu>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Thu, 5 Nov 1998, Gene Maguin wrote:
 
> Pulling the lines into a word processor and adding hard returns will
> probably do it.
 
Remembering to save the file as "text only with line breaks"!
 
In reply to those who find that lines longer than 80 characters "work"
in their version of SPSS, that's fine if you check every time (or "know"
your version), but it's like driving beyond the speed limit - from time to
time you *will* get caught out.
 
The reason for the limit is historical, but given that commands are a way
for you to describe your requirements, it is essential that they should be
readable by a human as well as interpretable by a computer.  80 character
lines are longer than the comfortable read, and there is no penalty for
splitting commands between multiple lines - disk space costs nothing.
Splitting commands into syntactic chunks on separate lines also aids editing.
 
R. Allan Reese                       Email: r.a.reese@gri.hull.ac.uk
Associate Manager                    Direct voice:   +44 1482 466845
Graduate Research Institute          Voice messages: +44 1482 466844
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