this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2024
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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  • Linus Torvalds added hidden tabs to Kconfig to challenge parsers that can't handle them.
  • Tabs were intentionally added to the common Kconfig file for page sizes to expose faulty parsers.
  • Torvalds believes parsers unable to handle tabs shouldn't be parsing kernel Kconfig files, aiming to force fixes.
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[–] AnActOfCreation@programming.dev 22 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Notice Linus doesn't use tabs; he just thinks the parser shouldn't die when it sees them.

Yeah and that makes sense. But I still choose to die on the hill of tabs or nothing. That's just how anal I am about my code.

And I realize there are niche scenarios where tabs don't make sense, but I could care less about those. Afaik, even assemblers support tabs. If you have tabs, I feel it is almost sacrilegious not to use them for indentation.