One thing that we programmers tend to obsess about is our code font. They’re mostly the same, of course, but there are a few characteristics that matter to individual programmers and there’s also the general appearance of the font.
For me, the important thing is a clear distinction between the letter o and the number 0, and the letter l and the number 1. I want the distinction to be immediately apparent. If the distinction is that the zero is skinnier than the letter o, I don’t want to use that font. Similarly for l and 1. I don’t want to think about it—the distinction should be immediately clear just by looking.
Equally important but more subtle is the appearance of the font. I use Inconsolata. I originally chose it because back in the old days it was one of the antialiased fonts and just looked much better than the others. These days, of course, most fonts are antialiased but I’ve stuck with Inconsolata mostly because of inertia: it’s good enough.
Still, every time I see a post about a new font, I have to take a look. Recently, I saw a pointer to a site that has screen shots of 111 programmer fonts. It’s a great way of exploring new fonts. On the left there’s a scrollable list of fonts. When you click on one of them, the corresponding font is displayed on the right. It’s a great way of exploring the fonts available. If you’re looking for a new font, this is a good resource. Even if you’re not looking for a new font, take a look. It will give you an idea of what’s available and may impel you to change.