From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me
X-Spam-Level: 
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham
	autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4
X-Google-Thread: 103376,bd78b6bffebbeb9f
X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public
X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit
Path: 
 g2news2.google.com!news3.google.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!newscon06.news.prodigy.net!prodigy.net!newsfeed-00.mathworks.com!nntp.TheWorld.com!not-for-mail
From: Robert A Duff <bobduff@shell01.TheWorld.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: AdaGIDE 7.42 and tabs
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:13:58 -0500
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Message-ID: <wccpsap56e1.fsf@shell01.TheWorld.com>
References: <1vtafevdmhdyx.d4kq1ryzk298.dlg@40tude.net>
 <LVUeh.310623$1i1.45167@attbi_s72>
 <1d1qpxmqm6ila.t4zxivn7nn6a.dlg@40tude.net>
 <Ru5fh.1093181$084.940948@attbi_s22>
 <sgds0g76zqs$.g5ulsl10tx7x$.dlg@40tude.net> <uodqawots.fsf@stephe-leake.org>
NNTP-Posting-Host: shell01.theworld.com
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Trace: pcls6.std.com 1165947238 32633 192.74.137.71 (12 Dec 2006 18:13:58
 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: abuse@TheWorld.com
NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:13:58 +0000 (UTC)
User-Agent: Gnus/5.1008 (Gnus v5.10.8) Emacs/21.3 (irix)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:lFtvAXMku3JsnQE1mg2Xd7+K6dg=
Xref: g2news2.google.com comp.lang.ada:7901
Date: 2006-12-12T13:13:58-05:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

Stephen Leake <stephen_leake@stephe-leake.org> writes:

> On some old mechanical typewriters, you could set mechanical tab stops
> where ever you wanted, to make typing tables etc easiser. Early
> printers also had configurable tab stops (not mechanical).

Right, but the tab key did not insert 'tab' characters (no such thing)!  ;-)

> Good editors also have configurable tab stops. 
>
> But the only portable way to use tab stops is to insert spaces, not HT.

Exactly.

- Bob