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Re: Are TABs a topic? ( was Re: “A dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch [...])

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On 2026-06-03 11:20, Paul wrote:
> 
> Tabs or tabulation control, was from the typewriter era. Setting
> the stop, allowed *variable* field widths set up on your typewriter.
> If you hit the tab, the carriage would move until it hit the
> tab-stop you set. There was a bar along the top of the typewriter,
> and the metal tab could be moved to the distance you wanted.
> We used to play with this, as kids.

Yes, I once was at such a typewriter. The tabs were used to position
to text-fields of forms, "similar" to switching fields in GUI forms
on computers. The Tabs were thus not fixed at one width but more a
sequence of independent positioning marks.

> [...]
> 
> Where does that leave us in a modern era ? Concept is
> perverted, by emitting some fixed number of spaces per tab,
> which is not how the original concept worked.

The "original concept" makes just little sense in "modern [computer]
era". (For programming you want fixed intent positions and for GUIs
there's anyway a field-oriented organization.)

> Is indenting
> the same amount each time, awe inspiring ? Of course. But then it
> isn't really a tab any more, because it isn't banging against
> a tab stop any more.

It's a useful and simple method to indent code and align text.

> It's a "schwing over N characters" button.

I don't think so. - It positions to specific fixed columns positions,
for example (9, 17, 25, 33, etc.) with a tab-setting of 8. If you're
at, say, character position 6 it only only "swings over" 3 characters.

(There may be Tab behaviors like the ones you describe but not on the
systems I'm working on. - In editors you could certainly configure its
behavior to achieve such a "replace Tab by N characters or forwards"
independent of the actual position.)

> And it goes downhill from there (lots of environments do not
> have a visible representation that tells you a tab character
> is present).

Some may like to see it, maybe even depending on the application text,
others may not. That's why some text editors support controlling that.

Janis

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Thread

Are TABs a topic? ( was Re: “A dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch [...]) Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2026-06-03 10:28 +0200
  Re: Are TABs a topic? ( was Re: “A dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch [...]) Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-06-03 05:20 -0400
    Re: Are TABs a topic? ( was Re: “A dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch [...]) Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2026-06-03 14:50 +0200
    Re: Are TABs a topic? ( was Re: “A dispute over the TAB key highlights a mismatch [...]) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-06-04 00:07 +0000

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