• Linus Torvalds added hidden tabs to Kconfig to challenge parsers that can’t handle them.
  • Tabs were intentionally added to the common Kconfig file for page sizes to expose faulty parsers.
  • Torvalds believes parsers unable to handle tabs shouldn’t be parsing kernel Kconfig files, aiming to force fixes.
  • Nik282000@lemmy.ca
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    2 years ago

    Why would anyone NOT parse a tab as whitespace? Like, python really wants you to use spaces but will still let you use tabs if you are consistent.

    • dinckel@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Even then, unless for some reason you code on paper, there is no excuse to not have a formatter, that enforces one style, or the other