Suresh Thalamati wrote:
Is it really necessary to use TABS on an existing code files with the
tabs. I am wondering if it would be ok to use 4/8 spaces instead to
match the surrounding code.
Most folks set their editors to have 4 space tabs , so if you use a 4
space tab it looks ok, but if you cat the file or look at a visual
diff the tabs are 8. So, we end up with patches like the one I just
looked at, DERBY-1456 where the indentation is off when you diff the
files. If you used 8 spaces instead of a tab, of course things would be
ok for the cat or the diff, but off for the folks that set their tabs to
4. The procedure outlined in the Tabs section of the
ContributorChecklist[1] I think will work to make sure that code looks
ok in both contexts.
The mixed tab/space mess is what Francois calls an "infection" and I
agree. My hope is that after the convention is approved, we can go on
to talk about an ultimate resolution for that problem . I think this
means reformatting the code on all the branches and removing the Note in
the convention, but that is a fodder for a subsequent discussion and
*not* part of this vote, just a bit of hope I have for the future.
Kathey
[1] http://wiki.apache.org/db-derby/DerbyContributorChecklist
