4 ms·

I think line numbers are better than page numbers for navigating an electronic document.

• DannoHung 17y ago
  Why not the natural boundaries of written documents: chapters, sections, paragraphs?
  • lg 17y ago
    Because those things require some kind of metadata added by the author while line numbers don't, and line numbers work for any type of text i.e. code. Not that those things aren't also really convenient for navigation, but I'd still want to be able to get at line numbers (though I'd also like to be able to create views, e.g. by zooming, that break up on-screen lines differently than the actual line breaks)
    • ugh 17y ago
      Um, what about changes in font size? That’s a problem for both pages and lines. Oh, I see. You want to introduce “actual” line breaks! Oh, just imagine the joys of explaining that concept to those new to it. They will certainly get it right away ;) (Lines might be a useful navigational tool for code but there is a reason why that number is used nowhere else.)