Farewell black-primer, it was nice knowing you (#2924)

[etc/vim.git] / docs / faq.md

diff --git a/docs/faq.md b/docs/faq.md
index 46e459883ed91dd3e6829f25a6013a2574c137fb..70f9b51394fea09e0aaeb6847576389c1fb9a799 100644 (file)
--- a/docs/faq.md
+++ b/docs/faq.md
@@ -5,8 +5,21 @@ The most common questions and issues users face are aggregated to this FAQ.
 ```{contents}
 :local:
 :backlinks: none
+:class: this-will-duplicate-information-and-it-is-still-useful-here
 ```
 
+## Why spaces? I prefer tabs
+
+PEP 8 recommends spaces over tabs, and they are used by most of the Python community.
+_Black_ provides no options to configure the indentation style, and requests for such
+options will not be considered.
+
+However, we recognise that using tabs is an accessibility issue as well. While the
+option will never be added to _Black_, visually impaired developers may find conversion
+tools such as `expand/unexpand` (for Linux) useful when contributing to Python projects.
+A workflow might consist of e.g. setting up appropriate pre-commit and post-merge git
+hooks, and scripting `unexpand` to run after applying _Black_.
+
 ## Does Black have an API?
 
 Not yet. _Black_ is fundamentally a command line tool. Many
@@ -16,19 +29,21 @@ though.
 
 ## Is Black safe to use?
 
-Yes, for the most part. _Black_ is strictly about formatting, nothing else. But because
-_Black_ is still in [beta](index.rst), some edges are still a bit rough. To combat
-issues, the equivalence of code after formatting is
+Yes. _Black_ is strictly about formatting, nothing else. Black strives to ensure that
+after formatting the AST is
 [checked](the_black_code_style/current_style.md#ast-before-and-after-formatting) with
 limited special cases where the code is allowed to differ. If issues are found, an error
-is raised and the file is left untouched.
+is raised and the file is left untouched. Magical comments that influence linters and
+other tools, such as `# noqa`, may be moved by _Black_. See below for more details.
 
 ## How stable is Black's style?
 
-Quite stable. _Black_ aims to enforce one style and one style only, with some room for
-pragmatism. However, _Black_ is still in beta so style changes are both planned and
-still proposed on the issue tracker. See
-[The Black Code Style](the_black_code_style/index.rst) for more details.
+Stable. _Black_ aims to enforce one style and one style only, with some room for
+pragmatism. See [The Black Code Style](the_black_code_style/index.rst) for more details.
+
+Starting in 2022, the formatting output will be stable for the releases made in the same
+year (other than unintentional bugs). It is possible to opt-in to the latest formatting
+styles, using the `--preview` flag.
 
 ## Why is my file not formatted?
 
@@ -36,6 +51,30 @@ Most likely because it is ignored in `.gitignore` or excluded with configuration
 [file collection and discovery](usage_and_configuration/file_collection_and_discovery.md)
 for details.
 
+## Why is my Jupyter Notebook cell not formatted?
+
+_Black_ is timid about formatting Jupyter Notebooks. Cells containing any of the
+following will not be formatted:
+
+- automagics (e.g. `pip install black`)
+- non-Python cell magics (e.g. `%%writeline`)
+- multiline magics, e.g.:
+
+  ```python
+  %timeit f(1, \
+          2, \
+          3)
+  ```
+
+- code which `IPython`'s `TransformerManager` would transform magics into, e.g.:
+
+  ```python
+  get_ipython().system('ls')
+  ```
+
+- invalid syntax, as it can't be safely distinguished from automagics in the absence of
+  a running `IPython` kernel.
+
 ## Why are Flake8's E203 and W503 violated?
 
 Because they go against PEP 8. E203 falsely triggers on list
@@ -44,9 +83,32 @@ readability because operators are misaligned. Disable W503 and enable the
 disabled-by-default counterpart W504. E203 should be disabled while changes are still
 [discussed](https://github.com/PyCQA/pycodestyle/issues/373).
 
-## Does Black support Python 2?
+## Which Python versions does Black support?
+
+Currently the runtime requires Python 3.6-3.10. Formatting is supported for files
+containing syntax from Python 3.3 to 3.10. We promise to support at least all Python
+versions that have not reached their end of life. This is the case for both running
+_Black_ and formatting code.
+
+Support for formatting Python 2 code was removed in version 22.0. While we've made no
+plans to stop supporting older Python 3 minor versions immediately, their support might
+also be removed some time in the future without a deprecation period.
+
+## Why does my linter or typechecker complain after I format my code?
+
+Some linters and other tools use magical comments (e.g., `# noqa`, `# type: ignore`) to
+influence their behavior. While Black does its best to recognize such comments and leave
+them in the right place, this detection is not and cannot be perfect. Therefore, you'll
+sometimes have to manually move these comments to the right place after you format your
+codebase with _Black_.
+
+## Can I run Black with PyPy?
+
+Yes, there is support for PyPy 3.7 and higher.
+
+## Why does Black not detect syntax errors in my code?
 
-For formatting, yes! [Install](getting_started.md#installation) with the `python2` extra
-to format Python 2 files too! There are no current plans to drop support, but most
-likely it is bound to happen. Sometime. Eventually. In terms of running _Black_ though,
-Python 3.6 or newer is required.
+_Black_ is an autoformatter, not a Python linter or interpreter. Detecting all syntax
+errors is not a goal. It can format all code accepted by CPython (if you find an example
+where that doesn't hold, please report a bug!), but it may also format some code that
+CPython doesn't accept.