Re: TABS and the nature of existance

[Mike Jackmin <Mike.Jackmin@RPSOLUTIONS.COM>]

Speaking of pet peeves... the tab issue, like many issues of programming
style, is often not based in logic so much as it is based on our need to
compensate for our lousy, outdated tools.

I use tabs, but you'll never know it - my nice, modern editor provides a
simple setting to convert tabs to whitespace when the files are saved. It
also provides a nice setting to convert whitespace back to tabs, if I wish,
when I read it back in.

In short, the computer is doing the grunt work. They love grunt work.

If  you are doing grunt work, and if you hate it as much as I do, I suggest
you get a more modern tool to work with and join the 20th century while
there is still time. For goodness sake, the idea that your toolset won't
support something as common as a TAB without raising hell is more than
enough reason to dump it right then and there.

The same goes for email that won't handle attachments, debuggers that don't
show you what you want to see and source code control that is too difficult
to use on a daily basis. Almost any good programming tool will pay for
itself within months, considering both the costs of our salaries and the
cost of fixing an error after the fact.


MikeJ