[long] Re: [clug] Elastic tabstops

[David Tulloh]

Alex Satrapa wrote:
>
> History lesson:
>
> The "Tab" key on a computer keyboard is inherited from the "Tab" key
> on a typewriter. the "Tab" key on a typewriter is used to tabulate
> data. The full name for that key is "tabulate". In the good old days
> when you used to type everything by hand - when an error would cost
> you a page of typewriter paper and the time to retype everything up to
> that point again - you'd set "Tab stops", which defined the columns in
> your tables (and in those days, tables were just rows of content all
> lined up neatly, though you could draw lines in by hand or use some of
> those fancy letraset things to rub straight, neat lines onto the page):
> [...]
It looks like I've learnt something today.

Thanks for going to the effort to write all that up.


David