Semantic line breaks

Instructions

When writing long-form comments, commit messages, Markdown, or other prose: ALWAYS use semantic line breaks to improve readability and maintainability.

Semantic line breaks

Semantic line breaks require breaking lines at logical points in the text, such as after punctuation marks, conjunctions, or prepositions.

• A semantic line break MUST occur after a sentence, as punctuated by a period (.), exclamation mark (!), or question mark (?).

  This is an example of a semantic line break.
  Here is another sentence following the break.
  

• A semantic line break SHOULD occur after an independent clause as punctuated by a comma (,), semicolon (;), colon (:), or em dash (—).

  This is an example of a semantic line break,
  which improves readability by separating clauses.
  Multiple lines make it easier to read and maintain.
  

• A semantic line break MAY occur after a dependent clause in order to clarify grammatical structure or satisfy line length constraints.

  Semantic line breaks are not strictly required here
  but using them can enhance the clarity of the text
  and keep lines within recommended length limits.
  

• A semantic line break MAY be used after one or more items in a list in order to logically group related items or satisfy line length constraints.

• A semantic line break SHOULD occur before an enumerated or itemized list.

  The following items are important:
  (a) First item; (b) Second item; and (c) Third item.
  

• A semantic line break MUST NOT occur within a hyphenated word.

• A semantic line break MAY occur before and after a hyperlink.

• A semantic line break MAY occur before inline markup.

Line length

Complying with semantic line breaks is required, but this must not violate line length guidelines.

The following guidelines apply to line lengths:

A line may exceed the maximum line length to accommodate hyperlinks, code elements, or other markup.

Examples

Multiple sentences

# BAD: all on one line
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

# GOOD: with semantic line breaks
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Long sentences

# BAD: wrapped to fit line length
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, demonstrating agility and speed in
a single bound, which is a testament to its evolutionary adaptations and
survival skills.

# GOOD: with semantic line breaks
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,
demonstrating agility and speed in a single bound,
which is a testament to its evolutionary adaptations and survival skills.

Hyperlinks

# BAD: Hyperlink in the middle of a line forces excessive line length
For more information, visit our documentation at <https://example.com/documentation/getting-started> to get started.

# GOOD: Hyperlink on its own line
For more information, visit our documentation at
<https://example.com/documentation/getting-started>
to get started.

# Also GOOD: semantic break after the comma
For more information,
visit our documentation at <https://example.com/documentation/getting-started>
to get started.

Itemized lists

# BAD: list items on the same line
The following items are important: (a) First item; (b) Second item; and (c) Third item.

# GOOD: semantic line break before the list
The following items are important:
(a) First item; (b) Second item; and (c) Third item.

# ALSO GOOD: semantic line breaks after each item
The following items are important:
(a) First item;
(b) Second item; and
(c) Third item.

Common mistakes

Exceeding line length limits

Do not exceed the absolute upper limit for line lengths.

Solution:

• Look for clauses or phrases earlier in the sentence that can be used as semantic line breaks.
• If no suitable semantic break exists, it's okay to break at the nearest word boundary to satisfy line length requirements while still prioritizing semantic breaks where possible.

Breaking within hyphenated words

Never break a hyphenated word across lines.

Solution: Treat hyphenated words as indivisible units and only insert line breaks before or after the entire hyphenated word.