Tabs vs Spaces

den2k88

I prefer tabs because when I have to move code from an indentation level to another it requires less deletes. Also allows for fancy editing like a different character width for indentation than for code (it helps for people who have to set the font to 12pt with 125% or 150% magnification active, like yours truly). Also I have worked on a codebase modified by several people in several years with different tools and different indentations. Code was something like

if (condition){
code;
if (cnd2)
{
code;
}
code;
while(something)
{
code;
}
}

Tabs would have fixed the lunacy.

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OriginalGriff

:sigh: There's always someone who just wants to watch the world burn, isn't there? OK. You can have your half-a-space provided it's the top half.

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acego

I normally use Tab key (4 spaces) but it also depends on the IDE

Cpichols

I use a 2-space tab.

Cpichols

I only care about what it looks like to the one working on the code. When dealing with changes to legacy code, I follow the patter established, which usually means copy/paste of the disparate numbers of spaces depending on the mood of the coder when it was created in notepad :wtf: I really hate the ripple effect that gives - I mean choose an indentation style and stick with it. I'm happiest when working on fresh apps where I can use auto indenting on vscode. So much pleasanter and I can properly collapse the bits I don't need to see right now. Why would I screw that up with using spaces? Just no.

Greg Utas

What does using spaces have to do with collapsing code that you don't need to see right now?

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JohnDG52

I prefer tabs - but the VS editor seems to have it's own idea about how they should be rendered, so I often end up using a mixture.

Cpichols

You should see this crazy code. It was like they decided arbitrarily each day where to start their nested content.

code

condition
{
code
condition
{
super long lines of code that go all the way off a standard screen with references to deeply nested arrays
}
other code
}

Cpichols

Yeah that didn't translate right; guess I should have used " "

Cpichols

Plus it's way easier to screw up the number of spaces needed. I guess that IDEs can be set to auto indent with spaces, but if someone else goes in there with notepad, it'll be a mess in a hurry. Using tabs discourages the use of notepad. Is that controlling? Maybe. I am a megalomaniac only in the coding, otherwise I'm very accommodating, so I'm comfortable with that.

Greg Utas

That's beyond sloppy. I would reformat it, and anyone who complained would be auditioning for a boys' choir.

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steve tabler

I'm regularly asked by other coders to fix code or tweak code that is formattwed like this, or worse. U like my indents to be a consistant 1/4 inch so the long lines of code don't wrap because they have several levels of indent in them. Just give me Allsup (ANSI) format.

Techsys Admin

You've got a point there. Word and WordPad (and many others, I'm sure) default to a proportional font so the default tab is 1/2 inch. Oddly, with a monospace fonts, I don't even consider the distance, per se, but instead a sufficient number of characters to make it read comfortably. Perhaps others do this? In any case, I normally choose 4 characters for the tab length in those files but I may have been influenced by so many editors choosing that same number.

Mark Starr

Indent? That’s really a thing? I just left-align everything. Tried right-align, but that was messy. :)

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User 11566074

I use spaces (inserted using the Tab key) according to the language: Python - 4 as is the usual setting, HTML/JavaScript: 2 because otherwise indenting of HTML tends to become too high to be comfortable.

Cpichols

Yes, I tried that in the first few weeks of my job and got in major trouble because git was a Christmas tree. And they just ignored my branches because of it. Low man on totem pole.

obermd

I think it had to do with what a mechanical typewriter was able to reliably insert. Remember, the tab key didn't shift x spaces, it shifted to the next tab stop, and yes, these were physical stops in a mechanical typewriter. Since these old machines worked on a fixed width font of 8 characters per inch and the physical tab stops were one inch apart, a tab became associated with 8 characters.

megaadam

I fine with that as long as you pick up the tab!

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Mike Hankey

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TNCaver

Tabs. Converting the tabs to spaces in my code is a capital offense with immediate execution of the sentence.

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