3 Space Indentation

View the full collection of compelling programming book covers

three-space-indentation

In the heated trenches of software development, wars are waged not over frameworks or languages, but over the most sacred of all coding choices: indentation style. And in this battlefield, a small but passionate group has emerged, boldly declaring that the only true way is... 3 Space Indentation.

Meet Riley, a developer who has adopted this middle-ground indentation style with the fervor of a convert. Riley’s motto? "Why choose between tabs and 2 or 4 spaces when 3 is clearly superior?" Riley's desk is adorned with a sign that reads, "3 Spaces: Because life isn’t binary."

The 3-space cult (as it’s lovingly called by detractors) prides itself on being the Goldilocks of indentation. "Two spaces are too tight," they say, “and four? That's just excessive. Three spaces is the perfect balance—visually pleasing and logically sound.” Riley often finds themselves evangelizing to coworkers who, frankly, didn’t even know 3-space indentation was a thing.

“Why 3 spaces?” they ask, baffled. “Why not?” Riley retorts, launching into a passionate monologue about how it combines the compactness of 2 spaces with the readability of 4, creating the ultimate coding experience. “It’s the Switzerland of indentation styles—neutral, peaceful, and universally acceptable.”

Every so often, Riley sneaks into the office at odd hours to "fix" the indentation in shared files. The morning after, the team logs in to find their codebase has mysteriously aligned to the 3-space standard. “This feels… off,” someone says. Riley just grins and nods, secretly basking in the symmetry.

Despite the occasional grumble from colleagues, Riley’s persistence is slowly paying off. A few brave souls have converted, and now there’s a growing pocket of 3-space devotees in the office. Meetings are punctuated with whispered exchanges about the superiority of the format, while the tab users sit in the corner, shaking their heads in disbelief.

“3 Space Indentation: Appreciating the best indentation style | The only true indent” is a playful jab at the endless debates that rage in the coding world. It’s a reminder that in development, as in life, the middle ground is often the most unexpected—and sometimes, just sometimes, it’s also the best place to be. So, the next time you open a file and see those three perfect spaces, just remember: Riley was right.

Open source on GitHub

© 2024 Created by DenITDao