> The good thing about modern languages is that you don't depend on the location of code in the page for it to work. If you start worrying too much about exact formatting, you throw away this big advantage.
Counterpoint: When using a formatter, I stop worrying about formatting. It's a job for a computer, done by a computer. Humans are bad at consistency and discipline, computers are great at it. I want to concentrate on the things that matter, and formatting isn't one of those.
Especially in larger teams, consistent formatting is just nice. No conflicting styles in the same file, and more meaningful diffs.
If you really want to stop worrying about code formatting, just stop doing it. It is not really that important. I have never spent any time worrying about it, and I don't see why people would be upset about formatting.
Moreover, using an automatic formatter will not fix it, because, guess what, there is no universal code formatter. All of them have different results and a long list of parameters. Determining the best way to use one will create more work for you as you manage your team, and will inevitably add a new step to your already complex building process. Just stop worrying and use that time in more productive ways.
> Determining the best way to use one will create more work for you as you manage your team, and will inevitably add a new step to your already complex building process.
I don’t know. I write JavaScript at $DAY_JOB and setting up Prettier on our repos took all of ~30 minutes, with an additional ~15 to determine which options to use. (There aren’t many because Prettier is fairly opinionated.) I have seen far more time wasted quibbling about code styling in code reviews.
Counterpoint: When using a formatter, I stop worrying about formatting. It's a job for a computer, done by a computer. Humans are bad at consistency and discipline, computers are great at it. I want to concentrate on the things that matter, and formatting isn't one of those.
Especially in larger teams, consistent formatting is just nice. No conflicting styles in the same file, and more meaningful diffs.