Linus Torvalds reiterates his tabs versus spaces stance with a core trap

Enlarge / Cans of Tongue diet a soda on display In 2011. Tongue was abandoned In 2020. There has Never has been A a soda appointed "The spaces" that had A worship following. Getty Pictures

Anybody can contribute has THE Linux core, but any of them the person commit suggestion can become THE subject of THE seeds master And namesake, Linus Torvalds. Torvalds East commonly not too much engaged has kindness, However he has has been functioning on he Since 2018. You can see glimpses of This more recent, less loaded with curse approach In how Torvalds recently address A commit with which he vehemently at variance. He implied tabs.

THE commit last week amended Exactly A thing on A double, replace A tongue character with A space: "He help Kconfig analyzers has read deposit without error." Torvalds replied with A commit of her own, as spotted by THE Register, which would be "add a few hidden tabs on aim." Trying has smooth on A tabs versus spaces matter seemed has awake Torvalds has THE need has to have tab detection chess be "more obvious." Torvalds would be to have added more, he wrote, but doesn't "to want has TO DO things uglier that necessary. But he *could be able* be necessary if he turns out We see more of This kind of silly tools."

If you have read This far And don't do it to understand what is this event, please allow Me, A failed CS minor, has offer A fast explanation: Tabs Against The spaces will Never be Really resolved, codified, Or together RIGHT by standards, And THE energy spent on THE issue on time could be able, if exploited, likely power A Or more little nations. Always, THE Linux core has It is own coding style, And he directly quoted "K&R", Or Kernighan & Ritchie, THE authors of THE coding Bible THE VS Programming Language, which East A tabs book. If You are submission core coded, he had better to use tabs (eight characters tabs, ideally, However that East related In part has teletype And online printer history).

By to attempt has smooth on A tiny part of THE core SO that A analysis tool could see A space character as A delimiting spaces, Prasad Pandit inadvertently stimulated A robust rebuttal:

He was not clear What tool he was, but let's go TO DO Of course he gets fixed. Because if You can't analyze tabs as spaces, You should not be analysis THE core Kconfig files.

In do, let's go TO DO such breakup more obvious that a few esoteric trace save size option. If You can't analyze tabs, You can't to have page sizes.

Yes, tab versus space confusion East Unfortunately A traditional Unix thing, And 'TO DO' East famous For be broken In This regard. But No, that do not mean that It is ok.

Torvalds hidden tabs appear In THE fourth release candidate For Linux core 6.9, which Torvlads wrote had "Nothing particularly unusual going on" THE week of It is liberation.

Disclosure: THE author East A tongue person Insofar as as he has any of them idea What he is do.

This job was update has 6:33 a.m. p.m. East has fix a few line break problems In THE Torvalds block quote. THE irony was duly note. A better link concerning THE Tabs ...