[m-rev.] trivial diff: rationale for 79 char limit

[Mark Brown]

Estimated hours taken: 0.1
Branches: main

compiler/notes/coding_standards.html:
	State the rationale for our line width limit.

Index: compiler/notes/coding_standards.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/mercury1/repository/mercury/compiler/notes/coding_standards.html,v
retrieving revision 1.6
diff -u -r1.6 coding_standards.html
--- compiler/notes/coding_standards.html	26 Mar 2002 01:17:05 -0000	1.6
+++ compiler/notes/coding_standards.html	17 Jul 2002 06:10:12 -0000
@@ -170,6 +170,9 @@
 
 Each line should not extend beyond 79 characters,
 unless this is necessary due to the use of long string literals.
+The reason we don't allow 80 character lines is that
+these lines wrap around in diffs,
+since diff adds an extra character at the start of each line.
 
 <p>
 
@@ -296,6 +299,8 @@
 </pre>
 
 can also be used to indicate divisions into major sections.
+Note that these dividing lines should not exceed the 79 character limit
+(see above).
 
 <h2> Testing </h2>
 
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