5 ms·

It really doesn't matter how many spaces or tabs, what's important is that all code and scripts are written in the same style, which greatly reduces time requir

• apr 13y ago
  It actually does, 2 spaces indents are hard to read, period.
  • gryz 13y ago
    you're getting used to it within few months.. (currently we have tabs though)
  • sdoering 13y ago
    Is there any scientific/empirical proof on this? I indent 4 spaces, no tabs, but I would like to see the real rationale there, not just the PEP-8 "rules".
    • Shish2k 13y ago
      Zero spaces makes indentation harder to spot than infinity spaces. Infinity spaces gives less space for code than zero. Conclusion: use as wide an indentation as possible while still keeping enough space for the code itself.
      • teddyh 13y ago
        Is there nothing to be said for consistency?
        • Shish2k 13y ago
          When I suggest using that algorithm to pick an indent size, I mean to use long-term averages to select a standard, not to indent every line as much as possible individually :P
    • praptak 13y ago
      There is this: "Program indentation and comprehensibility (1983) by R J Miara, J A Musselman, J A Navarro, B Shneiderman" http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/papers/Miara1983Program.pdf http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/papers/Miara1983Program.pdf I'd classify it as an attempt rather than something decisive but whatever floats your boat.
      • damncabbage 13y ago
        p866: The level of indentation that seems to produce optimal results in comprehension is between 2 and 4 spaces; as the number of spaces increase, the comprehension level decreases. On the other hand, the sample program hard parts that were indented nine times (!) in places. It's an interesting read, but I'd not try to use it in a discussion. Personally, I don't care; just pick one (hopefully one that matches what most people are using with that language, eg. 2 spaces for Ruby), and get on with it.
        • praptak 13y ago
          Yup, they seem to have used an overly indent-happy indentation scheme. Two separate indents: he 'begin' after the 'for' and for the block body is superfluous. This raises the concern that their results are biased towards smaller indents.
  • valisystem 13y ago
    No. Indent space is just an opinion/preference/habit.
  • oftenwrong 13y ago
    I prefer 2 space indents (tabs)
• fhd2 13y ago
  Yup. After a decade of programming, the only thing I care about is consistency. Even the weirdest code style people can come up with is just fine in a clean, consistent code base. Mildly surprised to see people arguing for specific tab widths...
• mradmin 13y ago
  Agreed, consistency matters most. Regarding whether it matters whether tabs or spaces are used, I've come to realise that I cannot control the tab length when viewing code outside of my editor (obviously!). So, let's say we have a 80 char line length limit. If I set my tab size to be 2 spaces, the line length is obviously going to be different to someone who sets their tab size to be 4 spaces. Just having the option to control the size of tabs means tabs should never be used as it will result in inconsistencies across editing/viewing environments. Also, when viewing code online, generally you have a limited viewing area. If you're using tabs, the length of the lines are generally going to be very long, and it's very difficult to view the code. In conclusion, if you care about things like line lengths (you should), and if you care about keeping your code in a certain and consistent format, the only way to manage it is with spaces, imo.