I think you will be fine with 4gb also, but it won't do any harm to get 8gb if you can afford it. The solid state disk (SSD) is really fast on these machines. When there isn't enough RAM available, the operating system swaps data to the SSD. On a computer with a spinning magnetic hard drive, this is a huge performance hit. On the MBA, you won't even be aware this is happening.
I had a 2011 4gb MBA and ran lots of powerful software like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Filemaker Pro, Vectorworks, Photoshop. I'm sure swapping was taking place but I wasn't aware of it. I now have an 8gb MBA and the user experience isn't a whole lot different.
As I mentioned, I just got a base model refurb MBA for a family member. It's replacing a 7 year old MacBook with only 2gb RAM. I'm sure she will be fine for another 6 or 7 years as her needs are very modest (mail, web, word processing).
As far as SSD size only you can answer that. The SSD is upgradeable (can be removed) but there are no 3rd party replacements availabe. For almost two years we have been promised they're coming "real soon now" . go figure.
I had a 2011 4gb MBA and ran lots of powerful software like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Filemaker Pro, Vectorworks, Photoshop. I'm sure swapping was taking place but I wasn't aware of it. I now have an 8gb MBA and the user experience isn't a whole lot different.
As I mentioned, I just got a base model refurb MBA for a family member. It's replacing a 7 year old MacBook with only 2gb RAM. I'm sure she will be fine for another 6 or 7 years as her needs are very modest (mail, web, word processing).
As far as SSD size only you can answer that. The SSD is upgradeable (can be removed) but there are no 3rd party replacements availabe. For almost two years we have been promised they're coming "real soon now" . go figure.