Whitespace Character - Definition and Ambiguity

Definition and Ambiguity

As is common in technical literature, the two words "white space" have found widespread usage as the single term "whitespace", especially when used as an adjective, as in "whitespace character". Some specifications refer to "white space" while others refer to "whitespace"—there is no difference between the terms, although exactly which characters are being referred to does vary from context to context.

The most common whitespace characters may be typed via the space bar or the tab key. Depending on context, a line-break generated by the return or enter key may be considered whitespace as well.