fixedpitch

Fixedpitch, commonly written as fixed-pitch or monospaced, denotes typefaces in which all characters share the same advance width. This design ensures that each glyph occupies an equal amount of horizontal space, enabling precise alignment of columns and code blocks. The concept originated with mechanical typewriters and early computer terminals, where fixed widths simplified composition and reading of data.

Examples of fixed-pitch fonts include Courier, Courier New, Consolas, Menlo, Monaco, and Source Code Pro. In modern typography, fixed-pitch is classified as a subset of monospaced fonts; many systems provide a monospace family with several font choices. On the web, the CSS font-family: monospace is used to request a fixed-pitch face.

Common uses include programming editors, integrated development environments, command-line interfaces, logs, data tables, and ASCII art. Advantages include predictable alignment and readability for source code and tabular data; drawbacks include less efficient use of horizontal space and reduced readability for large blocks of body text.

Limitations involve not all languages having popular fixed-pitch font variants; some glyph designs may clash with user interfaces; rendering can differ across platforms; font metrics can affect alignment in mixed-font contexts.

History traces fixed-pitch fonts to metal type and typewriters, with digital fixed-pitch fonts becoming standard in early computing and continuing to be used widely for code presentation and technical markup.