How many spaces do you indent?

Just out of curiosity, how many spaces do you use when indenting code? I recently changed my settings from the default 4 to 3, and I think it's an improvement in readability and use of space.

Answer 1

[John D'Errico]

2 space indents for me. I think they charge extra for more spaces. And it takes so much more work for the computer to wade through all those extra spaces. :)

Seriously, I just think it is easier to read with shallow indents, especially if you have code with multiple levels of indentation. With big indents, things can start to run off the right side of the page.

Yes, it is true that too little white space makes code hard to read. But you can have too much too. I'll argue that 2 space indents are the choice Goldilocks would choose, were she a programmer.

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

I use 4.

Answer 3

[Walter Roberson]

When I write code by hand I prefer 2; that is what you will see on my postings. However, when I have not bothered to change the Preferences to use 2 instead of 4, so when I write in the editor and use Smart Indent I end up with 4.