Deprecate tabs for indenting (was Re: Indenting with tabs vs spaces)

[Steve Lamb]

On 4 Dec 2001 03:00:16 -0800, Paul Boddie <paul at boddie.net> wrote:
> Steve Lamb <grey at despair.dmiyu.org> wrote in message news:<slrna0mh0t.ecm.grey at teleute.dmiyu.org>...
>> On Sun, 2 Dec 2001 20:13:37 -0600, Jeff Hinrichs <jlh at home.com> wrote:
>> > my 0.02$US:
>> > Actually, spaces are the problems not tabs.  A tab is a tab, where is
>> > indenting by spaces....hmm.
>> 
>>     No, a tab isn't a tab.
 
> It's hard to know what you're getting at here. Is this the ultimate
> form of denial? :-)

    Only because you're being willfully ignorant.

> The Tab key (or whatever symbol is used on your keyboard to denote it)
> is commonly used to move the cursor to a particular location, whether
> it be the next field in a form, or whether it be to a particular
> horizontal position in a human-readable textual document. 

    Neither of which applies.  We are talking about a tab character inside a
piece of code and you know it.

>>     With spaces that always comes out the same.  With tabs set to different
>> lengths you get different results.  The only constant when it comes to
>> indention is a space.  A space is a space.  A tab is not constant and
>> therefore should NOT be used for indention.  Ever.
 
> Indentation isn't at all important with respect to the correct
> interpretation of the above statement (which is the real issue here),
> but I've long suspected that you don't have a real argument to bring
> to the table.

    That is beacuse you are applying what a tab represents in two different
and unrelated fields to this one.  When you stop being willfully ignorant
you'll see my argument is quite valid.

> You're wasting your time making code "art" just as I could be wasting
> my time explaining to you what a tab is. In short, we're both wasting
> our time.

    Only one of us is, and that is me.  I am well aware of what a tab is in
word processing.  However, this isn't microsoft.public.applications.word (or
whatever it is).  Nor is this comp.sys.database.sql.forms.  This is
comp.lang.python.  Your definitions of tab addressed human readable documents
and form entry.  Neither of which have any application here.

    Code is, first and foremost, a machine parsed document which also needs to
be somewhat human readable.  In that context tab takes on a whole different
meaning.  Doubly so in Python since indention matters.  

    When you get on the same page as the rest of us my argument will make
sense.  Until then might I suggest returning to to the word processing and
form entry newsgroups as maybe discussing a programming language is beyond
your limited experience.  OR...  are you going to admit that you were
purposely misrepresenting what you fully knew what a tab represented in this
context just to get a rise out of me?

-- 
         Steve C. Lamb         | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
         ICQ: 5107343          | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
    To email: Don't despair!   |  -- Lenny Nero, Strange Days
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