Learning Java. Is there any compiler.

[wtd]

Does RTP auto-indent using spaces or tabs?

[wtd]

Auto-indentation also fails to take something very important into account...

Good code formatting is something you should be doing as you go. Good code formatting is not purely an aesthetic concern. It affects your ability to find bugs in code. It makes the code in general easier to follow, and when you have consistently formatted code, some bugs just visually stand out.

Also, keep in mind that finding bugs in code is not something you should be doing when you finish writing it. It is an ongoing part of the coding process. As you code, you should be looking for bugs constantly and almost subconsciously.

[Hikaru79]

wtd wrote:

Does RTP auto-indent using spaces or tabs?

Spaces.

Gandalf wrote:

Though I agree with Hikaru, that kind of formatting seems better to me, except for the extraneous "// end method foo" comments. The space after the method name makes it more readable.

Actually, the "//end method foo" only appears on methods that are auto-generated from the Boilerplates. If you don't use the boilerplates (and nobody really does), they aren't there. So that's a moot point.

Quote:

Auto-indentation also fails to take something very important into account...

Good code formatting is something you should be doing as you go. Good code formatting is not purely an aesthetic concern. It affects your ability to find bugs in code. It makes the code in general easier to follow, and when you have consistently formatted code, some bugs just visually stand out.

Also, keep in mind that finding bugs in code is not something you should be doing when you finish writing it. It is an ongoing part of the coding process. As you code, you should be looking for bugs constantly and almost subconsciously.

What does all that have to do with auto-indentation? If someone isn't properly checking their code just because RTP can indent for them, then they have more serious problems than just their choice of editor.

[wtd]

Granted, but the presence of automatic formatting would seem to encourage simply leaving that for the end of a project.