Tabs vs Spaces

VaelynPhi

This might not belong in Side Bar, but that's my preferred sector of TDWTF, so here I have placed it.

For indenting in code, I use tabs. I haven't always (I used to use single spaces.) I have no patience for four-space indenting, and I can't understand why anyone does. However, having recently tried using JSLint just for shits and giggles, I found that it had a few options for disregarding certain style conventions, but no option for not harassing me over not using spaces.

Now, at this point in my career, I use a text editor (Sublime) that pretty much smooths over tabs v spaces, though it sometimes requires some work. Also, when I have worked with others, they are almost never as consistent with tabbing (whether using actual tabs or spaces), so I wind up doing some retabbing pretty much either way.

However, I still can't wrap my mind around why anyone prefers spaces. So, spaceheads, please regale me with your best reasons to use spaces. I would be surprised if you changed my mind, but I'm certainly open to switching if it can be shown to make sense. Likewise, tabbies, why do you use tabs? I'm not trying to start a flamewar, just trying to get a better understanding of the great tab war--maybe its a non-issue, and I only ever see crazy coders who are way too passionate about it actually argue the point.

tar

Use spaces because nobody can agree on what a tab is supposed to represent. (2 spaces? 4 spaces? 8 spaces? Let's call the whole thing off?)

EDIT: :set et vs :set noet means I don't really need to care strongly either way. Use whatever the previous author used.

mott555

Spaces are visually more consistent. I have to work on a number of different Windows and Linux operating systems, and tab size is rather random depending on OS and text editor. But 4 spaces are always consistent.

And because of Python...freaking tabs and spaces. Someone commits a fix, uses a tab when the rest of the file uses spaces, and it blows up on a random assortment of other machines in the office. Even better is multiply-indented blocks that might use a tab followed by four spaces followed by another tab . Those are hard to find.

I prefer spaces because of the first paragraph, but it doesn't really matter as long as it's consistent.

tar

@mott555 said:

Python...tabs...spaces...

The abridged version.

cartman82

My experience: most coders are lazy fuckers who use whatever is the default setting in the IDE.

So in any kind of tabs vs spaces market research, you can automatically remove 70%-80% of the results and focus on people who care either way.

The spaces people will always tell you that they can't handle different editors assigning different space sizes to the tab character (2 / 4 / 8). And why the fuck does that matter, when you can simply change the setting to whatever suits you? Because they like to do this:

int my_function(int      arg1,      // argument 1
                string   arg2,      // I have a small novel to write about this arg,
                                    // so let's just fall into the next line
                MyClass  arg3       // So nice to be able to comment everything!
)  {
     // actual code
}

You often see this in verbose languages (C++, Java), where projects are huge, and you need to document as much as possible.

You can't do this with tabs. Any change in the tab width settings will screw up the nice little table they spent 20 minutes crafting.

But the tabs people don't have the time for that shit anyway. They just want to be able to whip the code around quickly and efficiently. They know better than to try and align anything into vertical columns using tabs. Instead, indentation is always from the left side and mechanical. Eg a single tab for function declaration, another if arguments overflow into the next line etc. No exceptions.

I'm a tabs guy. But if I wanted to align my code into vertical columns, I'd probably switch to spaces. Pretty simple.

PleegWat

Spaces are useful because some people refuse to reconfigure their broken editors to the one true tabstop value of 8.

swayde

I'm of the ide type. I don't care either way. Shift+alt+f or ctrl+e,d fixes it for me..
EDIT: meant to reply to cartman2...

blakeyrat

There is no reason to use spaces.

Hitting one key (tab) to advance 4 spaces, then having to hit backspace four times to reverse that is a muscle-memory killer. You don't just change the fundamental functionality of the backspace key for just one special case. Nobody's brain can handle that shit.

@tar said:

Use spaces because nobody can agree on what a tab is supposed to represent. (2 spaces? 4 spaces? 8 spaces? Let's call the whole thing off?)

That's the whole point of tab stops. If person A wants them to be 4 spaces, they are happy. If person B wants them to be 8 spaces, they, also, are happy. Yay.

@mott555 said:

Spaces are visually more consistent. I have to work on a number of different Windows and Linux operating systems, and tab size is rather random depending on OS and text editor. But 4 spaces are always consistent.

WTF is wrong with you idiots. Since the tab stops are set by the editor, you can just decide how big you want your tabs to be yourself. Without fucking over other people.

@cartman82 said:

My experience: most coders are lazy fuckers who use whatever is the default setting in the IDE.

So far this is the best answer. The biggest mystery is: why the holy FUCK does Visual Studio default to spaces!?

@cartman82 said:

You can't do this with tabs. Any change in the tab width settings will screw up the nice little table they spent 20 minutes crafting.

We as a society shouldn't cater to idiots.

Tabs vs Spaces

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