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xom-interest - Re: [XOM-interest] Tab support for nu.xom.Serializer?

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Subject: XOM API for Processing XML with Java

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  • From: Elliotte Harold <elharo AT metalab.unc.edu>
  • To: Alex Blewitt <alex_blewitt AT yahoo.com>
  • Cc: xom-interest AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [XOM-interest] Tab support for nu.xom.Serializer?
  • Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 16:09:09 -0400

Alex Blewitt wrote:

There are problems when both can be mixed, because
you're never sure what the exact conversion rate
between tabs and spaces is. As a result, a file with
mixed tab/space content can be misleading, and hence
some of the problems arise from the fact that there is
mixed cntent.

How do you half indent to indicate a continuation with a tab?

However, if a file is indented with entirely tabs or
entirely spaces, this problem does not arise. It is
just as much a problem with using spaces in a mixed
content as the tabs are.

Spaces are and will be used. tabs don't have to be.

Furthermore, the whole point of the tab is to say
'indent here'. I mean, come on -- when writing books,
your publisher would be pretty horrified if at the
start of each paragraph you began it with
'space''space''space', or for quotations providing
indentation. And yet this is a perfectly acceptable
solution for source code?

My current publishers would complain vociferously if I used tabs anywhere, including in source code. Tabs cause massive problems for their formatting tool chains. One of my old publishers used tabs for lists and tables, but never in source code.

Tabs cause problems when files are moved from one editor to another. They cause problems when students print out homework, or when source code is exchanged in email. Tabs are evil!

A tab means indent. Nothing more, nothing less.

Source code is plain text. There are no indents in plain text. Just characters.

--
Elliotte Rusty Harold elharo AT metalab.unc.edu
XML in a Nutshell 3rd Edition Just Published!
http://www.cafeconleche.org/books/xian3/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596007647/cafeaulaitA/ref=nosim




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