[Tutor] tabs or spaces (the endless debate!)

[R. Alan Monroe]

>> > tab character is a fixed, known ascii character around the world.

> Thats true, but how it should be rendered isn't.
> For example FrameMaker uses the interesting technique of setting tabs 
> by their physical distance from the left margin. You set tabs in 
> inches or centimeters! This results in a very different display of 
> two tabs than I get in vim, say.

Yeah. I come from a graphic design background, so this kind of
behavior feels right to me.

In my mind, it's vaguely similar to the same kind of debate as using
Italic tags vs. Emphasis tags in HTML. Do you mark up for looks
(spaces), or do you mark up to indicate the nature of the content
(tabs)? Again that's just my crazy opinion :^)


>> With spaces, they may be damaged during transport from mail

> Why are spaces any more prone to damage than tabs?

Just anecdotal experience on my part. When you copy/paste code from a
website, or have code forwarded to you with quote indicators like ">"
down the margin, etc. The spacing is often messed up.


> Absolutely. Also when you open code in an editor its not obvious
> whether the code is indented with tabs or spaces. If you then try 

That depends on your editor. Try Scite from scintilla.org. :^)

Alan