#DeathToSpaces
Spaces or tabs? There can be only one.... | The Tylt
Spaces or tabs? It may be an obscure argument among programmers about how to format code – but it's also an age-old battle that still burns hot in development circles ("Tabs versus Spaces: An Eternal Holy War" was published in 2000).
Last week's episode of "Silicon Valley" skewered this fight when Richard actually breaks up with the otherwise-promising Winnie solely because she uses spaces to code (scene here).
Tech Insider sums up the argument:
"Richard's favorite, tabs, involves fewer key presses (and thus, in most cases, fewer characters for the computer program to remember), but is a bit imprecise. Winnie's favorite, spaces, offers coders a more specific and literal way to create their indentations. However, it's slower to use and uses up more storage space."
And the intensity of this conflict is for real: in a piece titled "Death to the Space Infidels!" programmer Jeff Atwood says the formatting wars "destroy peer relationships" and can even cause "teamicide" (!!!).
Who knew programmers lived on such a life-and-death edge?!
Spaces...or tabs? Choose wisely…
What do you think: #DeathToSpaces or #DeathToTabs?
Real-time Voting
Spaces or tabs? There can be only one....
#DeathToSpaces
#DeathToTabs
#DeathToTabs
WOW. A marriage destroyed.
Wife: is tabs/spaces really a thing?
— Tom Forsyth (@tom_forsyth) May 31, 2016
Me: no, tabs folk are just idiots.
Wife: what's wrong with tabs?
Me: ...welp, we had a good 25 years.
Each side believes the world is against them in their struggle for justice.
YES! CRYENGINE USES TABS, NOT SPACES. IN YOUR FACE, WORLD!
— Zdeněk Gromnica (@FutureMillenniu) May 24, 2016
No doubt the conflict has at some point become violent.
I don't care about your race, religion, skin color, or orientation, but if you use spaces instead of tabs I will push you down the stairs.
— Vitamin J (@Malfeasible) May 20, 2016
*whispers* tabs are still better than spaces
— (((Randi Harper))) (@randileeharper) June 1, 2016
*dances off*
*wins the internet forever*
#DeathToTabs
Internet taunting is not unheard of.
@randileeharper *spacebar* *spacebar* spacebar* *spacebar*
— funjon (@funjon) June 1, 2016
#DeathToTabs
@randileeharper every time someone sends me a file with tabs in it, god sacrifices a baby unicorn.
— sergio t. ruiz (@sergio_101) June 1, 2016
#DeathToTabs
Name-calling is common.
@atarutin @ThePracticalDev and that is how it should be. Ppl that have never dev outside of their hipster Macs think tabs are ok.
— Lord Triggerasaurus (@triggerasaurus) June 1, 2016
#DeathToTabs
.@ThePracticalDev @Radegund What? No it really is not a matter of preference, tabs really are a bad idea in source code.
— Andrew Bower (@andybower) June 1, 2016
Fates worse than death are sometimes wished on members of the opposing side.
@ThePracticalDev Excellent. Let all those who use spaces to format their code repent or burn in the fiery pits of Reddit.
— Brewski (@bringstrom) June 1, 2016
