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[Tim Harig]

On 2010-11-04, Mark Wooding <mdw at distorted.org.uk> wrote:
> Tim Harig <usernet at ilthio.net> writes:
> This is wishful thinking.  Firstly, code written with a narrow
> indentation offset (e.g., two spaces) can take up an uncomfortable width
> when viewed with a wider offset.

I can accept that as a trade-off.  People have different ideas about
acceptable column width anyway.  I use 8 space tab stops and target 
to no more then 80 columns.  If somebody uses 2 space tab stops, its going
to go over the 80 columns a little bit; but, not so much as cause a major
issue.

> Secondly, if you want other parts (e.g., per-line comments) of lines
> with different indentations to align, then you'll have to take into
> account the tab width.  Technically, you could arrange that between any
> pair of alignment points of any pair of lines there are the same number
> of tab characters; but this is also doomed to uncomfortably wide lines;
> it also suffers because it imposes an /a priori/ upper bound on the
> indentation level.

I use simple comments that are not effected by white space.  I don't waste
my time trying to make comments look artistic.  They are there to convey
information; not to look pretty.  I really detest having to edit other
peoples comment formatting where you have to re-align everything if the
length of any of comment lines change.