Indentation in Programming
In computer programming languages, indentation is used to format program source code to improve readability. Indentation is generally only of use to programmers; compilers and interpreters rarely care how much whitespace is present in between programming statements. However, certain programming languages rely on the use of indentation to demarcate programming structure, often using a variation of the off-side rule. The Haskell, Occam, and Python programming languages rely on indentation in this way.
Debates over where to indent, whether to use spaces or tabs, and how many spaces to use are often hotly debated among programmers, leading some to classify indentation as akin to a religious war. Different indentation styles are commonly used. In 2006 a third method of indentation was proposed, called elastic tabstops.
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