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by ktRolster 3768 days ago
How many spaces do you like to indent your code? Some people like 3 space indentations, some like 8 spaces, and some like 5. It's very personal (but anyone who doesn't use 3 is a reeky brazen-faced mammet).

A simple solution is to use tabs, because then every developer can set the tab distance however they like, and they are happy. It breaks down when you have code that is aligned beyond the indent, like this:

  if(a && b &&
     c && d &&
     e && f   ) {
In that case, increasing (or decreasing) the tab distance will ruin the intention.

The best solution is to use tabs to the point of indentation, and then spaces thereafter, but a lot of code editors don't support that, so in practice it's hard to implement, so people use spaces to preserve their formatting when it gets uploaded to github.

2 comments

Mixing sounds like the worst option.Its what has cause horrendous looking code in the past when you open someone elses code and they are mixed.

Python and spaces for me.

  > Python and spaces for me.
Sounds like you are a very open-minded individual. Not.
I say this from experience, not narrow mindedness.

Open a file where it is all spaces, and it looks the same on every machine. Open a file with a mix of spaces and tabs, and it often turns out an absolute mess.

OMG! 3 spaces? EVEN number? 2 or 4. Never even.
You sir, are a reeky, brazen faced mammet!