C indentation style (was RE: [Python-Dev] Re: [Patches] [Patch #102813] _cursesmodule: Add panel support)

[Tim Peters]

[Thomas Wouters]
>>   * Guido-style:  8-column hard-tab indents.
>>   * New style:  4-column space-only indents.
>
> Hm, I must have missed this... Is 'new style' the preferred style, as
> its name suggests, or is Guido mounting a rebellion to adhere to the
> One True Style (or rather his own version of it, which just has
> the * in pointer type declarations wrong ? :)

Every time this comes up wrt C code,

1. Fred repeats that he thinks Guido caved in (but doesn't supply a
reference to anything saying so).

2. Guido repeats that he prefers old-style (but in a wishy-washy way that
leaves it uncertain (*)).

3. Fredrik and/or I repeat a request for a BDFL Pronouncement.

4. And there the thread ends.

It's *very* hard to find this history in the Python-Dev archives because
these threads always have subject lines like this one originally had ("RE:
[Python-Dev] Re: [Patches] [Patch #102813] _cursesmodule: Add panel
support").

Fred already did the #1 bit in this thread.

You can consider this msg the repeat of #3.

Since Guido is out of town, we can skip #2 and go straight to #4 early
<wink>.


(*) Two examples of #2 from this year:

Subject: Re: [Python-Dev] Re: [Python-checkins] CVS: python/dist/src/
Modules mmapmodule.c,2.1,2.2
From: Guido van Rossum <guido@python.org>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 07:10:45 -0500
> Can we change the 8-space-tab rule for all new C code that goes in?  I
> know that we can't practically change existing code right now, but for
> new C code, I propose we use no tab characters, and we use a 4-space
> block indentation.

Actually, this one was formatted for 8-space indents but using 4-space
tabs, so in my editor it looked like 16-space indents!

Given that we don't want to change existing code, I'd prefer to stick
with 1-tab 8-space indents.



Subject: Re: [Python-Dev] Re: [Python-checkins] CVS: python/dist/src/Modules
linuxaudiodev.c,2.2,2.3
From: Guido van Rossum <guido@beopen.com>
Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2000 09:39:51 -0500

> Aren't tabs preferred as C-source indents, instead of 4-spaces ? At
> least, that's what I see in Python/*.c and Object/*.c, but I only
> vaguely recall it from the style document...

Yes, you're right.