Re: tabs vs. spaces in source code

[Mark Polesky]

...tabs in the source code...

Werner Lemberg wrote:
> I dislike them, too, but there are many editors which handle
> them just fine.  I don't see a problem here.

But would you be *opposed* to a strict no-tab rule?

Carl Sorensen wrote:
> The last communication we had about it, Han-Wen was
> conditionally in favor and Jan was opposed.

Are you sure? What do mean by "conditionally"?
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-04/msg00103.html

And it looks like Jan was also okay with it:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-04/msg00104.html

If there is anyone opposed to a strict no-tab rule, please speak
up! If I get the official go-ahead from (both? either?) Han-Wen
and Jan, I think I'll start working on it.

Does anyone have a script to automate such a process across
multiple files? I'm not too clever with such things (I don't know
python either). The best I can do is this (using jEdit):

1) save a "tabs2spaces" macro:
   textArea.selectAll();
   textArea.tabsToSpaces();

2) bind it to a keyboard shortcut (<ALT>-1 is available)

3) open file; <ALT>-1; close file; repeat.

There are 78 files in the scm folder, it wouldn't take that long
at all. But probably one of you knows a better way (batch-style).

Let me know. I don't want to waste time if I don't have to.

Also, can we list all of the possible situations where we need to
retain tabs? Ian mentioned .make files; the last time this came up
Patrick McCarty mentioned something about demarcating syllables in
lyrics, which I don't think I understand. (Patrick, can you give
an example?)
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-devel/2009-04/msg00080.html

Are there any other tabs that need to stay?

I'm looking at this:
http://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=lilypond.git;a=blob;f=Documentation/user/notation-appendices.itely#l500

But even in such cases, as long as my tab-width matches the
tab-widths in the source, tabs2spaces should be fine. Is it
correct to say that git (or savannah) translates all tabs to 8
spaces without exception?

By the way, I'm intending to re-write the above-referenced
notation-appendices node anyway; it was just an example.

Thanks!
- Mark