[OT] Spaces/tabs (Was: simple display (from: GUI library for D))

[Jonathan M Davis]

> Am 11.04.2011 07:51, schrieb Jonathan M Davis:
> >> Nick Sabalausky:
> >>> What, so that he can force his indentation size on everyone else that
> >>> works on the code? Or so that using the left/right arrow keys within
> >>> the indentation zone requires an unnessesaraly large number of
> >>> keypresses?
> >> 
> >> It's a module theoretically meant for Phobos, and the Phobos coding
> >> standard are spaces.
> > 
> > Yes. Phobos follows the convention of indenting with spaces and that
> > levels of indentation are 4 spaces. So, anything which goes into Phobos
> > needs to follow this convention.
> > 
> > the only way that tabs work is if you use them consistently, which in my
> > experience almost never happens.
> 
> How can people mess that up?

They mix tabs and spaces. On some lines, they use spaces and on others they 
use tabs. If the tab size isn't set exactly the same on your machine as 
however it was set up on the other person's machine, then the indentation is 
totally screwed up. And if multiple people have edited the file, it gets that 
much worse. On top of that, even if the rule is to use tabs for indentation 
and spaces elsewhere and people are consistent with tabs for indentation, 
they'll often use tabs elswhere where they should have used spaces. The only 
way that using tabs works is if you're completely consistent with them. You 
use tabs where you're supposed to use tabs and spaces where you're supposed to 
use spaces, and everyone does the same thing. Odds are, that's not going to 
happen - _especially_ if the tabs don't show up differently in your editor and 
you can't see when you've screwed up and used tabs when you're not supposed to 
or not used them where you are supposed to.

Personally, I think that it's _horrible_ to use tabs, and I know plenty of 
programmers who agree, but as with many stylistic things in programming, there 
are plenty who would disagree.

- Jonathan M Davis