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Re: [PATCH] Documentation: indent-with-non-tab uses tabwidth setting, not just 8

From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date
Sep 17, 2012, 06:03 UTC
Message-ID
<7v8vc9w5hq.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
In-Reply-To
<7v392hxm94.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org>
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:
Show 24 quoted lines
>> @@ -559,8 +559,8 @@ core.whitespace::
>>  * `space-before-tab` treats a space character that appears immediately
>>    before a tab character in the initial indent part of the line as an
>>    error (enabled by default).
>> -* `indent-with-non-tab` treats a line that is indented with 8 or more
>> -  space characters as an error (not enabled by default).
>> +* `indent-with-non-tab` treats a line that is indented with `tabwidth` space
>> +  characters or more as an error (not enabled by default).
>
> I would rather see this part left untouched.
>
> Your new text will force people who are not interested in using
> non-standard tab width to read through the bulletted list, only to
> find "The default tab width is 8".  I think that is a regression in
> the documentation for more common readers.
>
> When somebody wants to use `indent-with-non-tab` and gets offended
> by the seemingly hardcoded "8" in the description, the reader has
> incentive to find out if there is a way to change that 8, and will
> find `tabwidth=<n>` in the same bulletted list described, with the
> effect it has on both `indent-with-non-tab` and `tab-in-indent`.
>
> I think that should be sufficient for people who do use non-standard
> tab width using tabwidth=<n>.

An alternative would be to lose the "8" (or `tabwidth`) from that description. I've always thought that the description of `tabwidth` is clear enough that "8" in the patch is not a hardcoded non-overridable value but is merely a default, but after reading that section a few more times, I no longer think that is the case.

I originally wrote "8 or more space" but that wasn't because I thought it was important to stress "8 is the default", but because I didn't think of a better way to say what I wanted to say, which was "if you are filling the indentation with spaces when you could have just typed a tab with a few spaces, this error triggers", in other words "use of this is to encourage indenting with tabs".

Previous: Wesley J. LandakerNext: Wesley J. Landaker
Message 4 of 7 in “Documentation: indent-with-non-tab uses tabwidth setting, not just 8”
  1. Documentation: indent-with-non-tab uses tabwidth setting, not just 8Wesley J. Landaker, Sep 16, 2012
  2. Junio C HamanoSep 17, 2012
  3. Wesley J. LandakerSep 17, 2012
  4. Junio C HamanoSep 17, 2012
  5. Wesley J. LandakerSep 17, 2012
  6. Documentation: indent-with-non-tab uses "equivalent tabs" not 8Wesley J. Landaker, Sep 17, 2012
  7. Junio C HamanoSep 17, 2012

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