The problem with universal whitespace removal isn't the output of the diff, imo, but the spurious conflicts in merges. A change should be minimal to allow easie

The problem with universal whitespace removal isn't the output of the diff, imo, but the spurious conflicts in merges. A change should be minimal to allow easier merging. Ideally whitespace would be trimmed from lines that have otherwise changed, thus ensuring a gradual (though probably never completing) repair of the code.