Re: globally setting tab=4 spaces?

[cjw44@flatline.org.uk (Colin Watson)]

will trillich <will@serensoft.com> wrote:
>On Sun, Apr 01, 2001 at 07:12:03PM -0700, Bill Wohler wrote:
>>   Yes, this is Linux. This means that the standard for hard tabs is 8
>>   characters wide.
>> 
>>   If you ever want to exchange files with anyone else, and you want
>>   them to be able to read your files without getting a headache,
>>   please either ensure that your tab key inserts spaces, or your hard
>>   tabs are 8 characters wide.
>
>if you don't know, just say so. :)

There is no way. I know of at least one program that unconfigurably
assumes eight characters, and I doubt that's worth changing (newsreaders
are *about* exchanging information with other people, breaking tab stops
would be a bad idea).

>>   Many coding conventions require this.
>
>so let's say i'm gonna live in a vacuum for the next forty years.
>how can i change my tabs, system-wide? or is this like windo~1
>where you can't change something if The Forces That Be don't want
>you to?

If you want to do it, patch the console driver and any X terminal
emulators you use, plus quite possibly less and a bunch of applications.
Since tabs go to the next eight-space stop, I doubt there's been a great
effort to make it configurable.

-- 
Colin Watson                                     [cjw44@flatline.org.uk]