IDLE docstring indentation

[NK5W]

Bug report

Bug description:

def _run():
    """Run.

Run away.
"""
    print("Running away...")

It doesn't auto indent the second line and below.

CPython versions tested on:

3.13

Operating systems tested on:

No response

Linked PRs

• gh-138539: Fix wrong indent for docstrings in IDLE #138572

[XChaitanyaX]

Can I try this?

[StanFromIreland]

Feel free to start working on any issue where no one else has said they are!

[XChaitanyaX]

cpython/Lib/idlelib/editor.py

Lines 1459 to 1465 in cb7ef18

	if c == pyparse.C_STRING_FIRST_LINE:
	# After the first line of a string do not indent at all.
	pass
	elif c == pyparse.C_STRING_NEXT_LINES:
	# Inside a string which started before this line;
	# just mimic the current indent.
	text.insert("insert", indent, self.user_input_insert_tags)

look at this example

so I think the initial lines that have no indent should also be indented like this (below screenshot after changes to code at the bottom)

so I think both the conditions in if and elif should be merged like this

if c == pyparse.C_STRING_FIRST_LINE or c == pyparse.C_STRING_NEXT_LINES:
    # Inside a string which started before this line;
    # just mimic the current indent.
    text.insert("insert", indent, self.user_input_insert_tags)

Any Thoughts??

[terryjreedy]

I do not consider this a bug because

A) it does not conflict with the IDLE indent doc. This does not try to define and fix such details.

B) There is a good reason for the current behavior. CPython prohibits trailing whitespace in most files, including .py files. Blank lines must be blank, with no spaces or tabs.

C: Consider the following idiom for defining a text without indents without a function, where the first line is necessarily indented.

class CTest:
    def test_something():
        text  = """\
First line.
Second line.

Fourth line after blank line.
"""

        # More method code.

Others prefer to use indents and textwrap.dedent, but I prefer the above. For one thing, it allows longer lines.

---

In docstrings, REPL inserts spaces before 2nd line, but if it is otherwise blank, the 3rd line has no blank. The spaces are left, which is a bug in that the code could not be commited if copy-pasted into an editor and the prompts removed but the trailing spaces left.
So it requires an explicit dedent after a blank line not meant to end the string.

[NK5W]

I see.

[XChaitanyaX]

For one thing, it allows longer lines.

yes, but is it possible to add an explicit dedent and represent longer lines like this?
of course, everyone prefers different ways of representing longer lines, but the code doesn't look cleaner.

def hello():
    text = ('text 1st half'
            'text 2nd half')

I like to prefer cleaner code. What do you guys prefer?