Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder4.news.weretis.net!ecngs!feeder2.ecngs.de!newsfeed.freenet.ag!news2.euro.net!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.007 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.99; '*S*': 0.00; 'motivated': 0.05; 'subsequent': 0.05; '"the': 0.07; 'revision': 0.07; 'adopted': 0.09; 'arguments': 0.09; 'deprecated': 0.09; 'key.': 0.09; 'received:209.85.219': 0.09; 'spaces': 0.09; 'width': 0.09; 'windows': 0.15; 'iso/iec': 0.16; 'measured': 0.16; "microsoft's": 0.16; 'subject:ISO': 0.16; 'tab': 0.16; 'tabs': 0.16; 'welcomed': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.18; 'code.': 0.18; 'mechanism': 0.19; 'byte': 0.24; 'mon,': 0.24; 'source': 0.25; 'supported': 0.26; 'header:In- Reply-To:1': 0.27; 'point': 0.28; 'function': 0.29; 'character': 0.29; 'originally': 0.30; 'sets': 0.30; 'waste': 0.30; 'message- id:@mail.gmail.com': 0.30; 'url:mailman': 0.30; 'code': 0.31; 'serve': 0.31; 'coded': 0.31; 'fighting': 0.31; 'fixing': 0.31; 'horizontal': 0.31; 'indentation': 0.31; 'responded': 0.31; 'probably': 0.32; 'languages': 0.32; 'url:python': 0.33; 'bugs': 0.33; 'programmers': 0.33; 'standards': 0.33; '"the': 0.34; 'received:209.85': 0.35; 'received:google.com': 0.35; 'version': 0.36; 'chair': 0.36; 'url:listinfo': 0.36; 'next': 0.36; 'responsible': 0.36; 'url:org': 0.36; 'received:209': 0.37; '2007': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'pm,': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'url:mail': 0.40; 'days': 0.60; 'eventually': 0.60; 'our': 0.64; 'more': 0.64; 'approved': 0.65; 'revealed': 0.68; 'shortly': 0.68; 'published': 0.71; 'therefore': 0.72; 'quality': 0.72; 'dr.': 0.77; 'that."': 0.84; '646': 0.91; 'announcing': 0.91; 'economic': 0.98; '2013': 0.98 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:x-received:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id :subject:from:to:content-type; bh=vTqAmDCPTmM32/zrsysLjJGel7RTi0XkSrowsJ6oCTc=; b=pVU7NjyLpNJni2WfuyEpcI4MmrtNebOJ89TsP1j/ht21I5mPN9uusmRLafFzs8F2Vv omNiVXV89oTBoUAqvkiehY4GIAkd+iVPVP1EhXvNZXd+4bMrn4IKXEpwM/Hj1JAYkdoE 8ZRdUYKYKyXdLfjNhnStmZltjiZ42C3quLEAl0npWycSZPTU/2dosJdnlbd3/zw9mKq2 /KbpVDJrsQcmTQjcty+3QCid/0+QV4gSnhO8QMuO5KWSr06W2kAA52uTLSdRS3dirC5u Mr1P1zJSfhJT8LwnWpgL6l+nLUpZx87OsPmzl8Ng0n8jphObzf6a4bSo/XylGHf+uPWy rrSQ== MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.60.3.71 with SMTP id a7mr4398616oea.35.1364846595903; Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:03:15 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <5775f963-116b-42d4-b158-4bac323fb402@googlegroups.com> References: <5775f963-116b-42d4-b158-4bac323fb402@googlegroups.com> Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2013 16:03:15 -0400 Subject: Re: ISO deprecates ASCII Horizontal Tab control character From: David Robinow To: python-list@python.org Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=e89a8f839d518599ae04d9521cd8 X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 81 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1364846598 news.xs4all.nl 6987 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:54364 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:42494 --e89a8f839d518599ae04d9521cd8 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 If only On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 3:10 PM, wrote: > The subcommittee of ISO Joint Technical Committee 1 that is responsible > for coded character sets has deprecated the Horizontal Tab control > character in an approved revision of ISO/IEC 646 to be published in the > next few months. > > "The days of HT's usefulness in printer control are long gone," said Dr. > Yishoki Makimi, chair of the subcommittee. "Today tabs are only used in > software source code. Our research revealed they serve no function in > software engineering other than to provoke arguments and therefore waste > time. We measured that HTs accumulated economic cost surpassed that of big > vs. little-endian byte order in 2007 and started the committee work to > deprecate it shortly after that." > > The width of a horizontal tab was originally adjustable in printer > mechanism and was never standardized. Its subsequent use for indentation of > instructions in the source code of block-oriented languages was economical > when computer storage was expensive. Eventually many programmers adopted > spaces leading to the contraversy that motivated the subcommittee. > > Microsoft has responded to ISO's move by announcing that HT will contunue > be supported in Windows through Version 8, after which the code point will > be repurposed for the Windows Key. Hillary Jeremy, Microsoft's code quality > and standards boss, welcomed the move saying, "We've probably spent more > time, over the years, fighting over tabs than we have spent fixing bugs in > Office." > -- > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list > --e89a8f839d518599ae04d9521cd8 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
If only


On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 3:10 PM, <= ;fsb@thefsb.org>= wrote:
The subcommittee of ISO Joint Technical Comm= ittee 1 that is responsible for coded character sets has deprecated the Hor= izontal Tab control character in an approved revision of ISO/IEC 646 to be = published in the next few months.

"The days of HT's usefulness in printer control are long gone,&quo= t; said Dr. Yishoki Makimi, chair of the subcommittee. "Today tabs are= only used in software source code. Our research revealed they serve no fun= ction in software engineering other than to provoke arguments and therefore= waste time. We measured that HTs accumulated economic cost surpassed that = of big vs. little-endian byte order in 2007 and started the committee work = to deprecate it shortly after that."

The width of a horizontal tab was originally adjustable in printer mechanis= m and was never standardized. Its subsequent use for indentation of instruc= tions in the source code of block-oriented languages was economical when co= mputer storage was expensive. Eventually many programmers adopted spaces le= ading to the contraversy that motivated the subcommittee.

Microsoft has responded to ISO's move by announcing that HT will contun= ue be supported in Windows through Version 8, after which the code point wi= ll be repurposed for the Windows Key. Hillary Jeremy, Microsoft's code = quality and standards boss, welcomed the move saying, "We've proba= bly spent more time, over the years, fighting over tabs than we have spent = fixing bugs in Office."
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