Indent Finder

Indent Finder is a handy tool for fixing the common headache of indentation in external program sources. You know how it goes—some folks use 2 spaces, others prefer tabs, and then there are those who mix both (yikes!). This inconsistency can be super annoying, especially when you’re trying to keep your code neat and tidy.

Why Indentation Matters

Most text editors give you options to set how you want your files indented. You hit tab, and it inserts spaces or tabulations based on your settings. But here’s the kicker: this only works perfectly with files you’ve created yourself. Once you start editing someone else’s work, you might run into different indentation styles. If their settings don’t match yours, things can get messy fast!

The Trouble with External Sources

Imagine this: if I’m using tabs that show up as four spaces but then edit a file that uses four actual spaces, all my new lines will get tabs. They’ll look fine in my editor but might not play nice in someone else’s! This is especially frustrating if you're coding in Python because indentation is crucial for structure.

The Simple Solution: Indent Finder

I haven't found an editor yet that completely solves this problem. But here's where Indent Finder steps in! It analyzes the indentation used within a file and adjusts its settings accordingly.

How It Works

This tool works with any programming language and has been tested successfully on C, C++, Python, and Java code. The current version even integrates well with Vim! I hope other editors catch on to this idea so we can all enjoy auto-detecting indentation as a standard feature.

A Quick Overview of the Code

The script is written in Python because it was quick and easy to whip up. The algorithm checks each line for spaces or tabs until it hits a non-space character. Lines that are blank or have mixed indentation get ignored.

Understanding Indentation Counts

It keeps track of how many lines have specific types of indentation—like tabs or spaces from 2 to 8 counts. At the end of the scan, it picks the most common form of indentation used throughout the file.

Requirements:

• Python