Bug #4597
closed
YAML doesn't consider tab stops as whitespace in mappings
Description
=begin
The YAML specification states that in a mapping (aka Hash in Ruby), the mapping value indicator (":") has to be separated from the value by white space (see quotation [1]). The YAML specification also states, that white space is defined as follows:
s-space ::= #x20 /* SP /
s-tab ::= #x9 / TAB */
s-white ::= s-space | s-tab
(from http://yaml.org/spec/1.2/spec.html#id2775170)
Based on that, the following two lines of Ruby code should yield the same result:
YAML.load("foo: bar") # => {"foo"=>"bar"}
YAML.load("foo:\tbar") # => "foo:\tbar"
As one can see by the annotated results, however, Ruby parses "foo:\tbar" as a scalar and not as a mapping.
The same also happens for inline mappings:
YAML.load("{ foo: bar }") # => {"foo"=>"bar"}
YAML.load("{ foo:\tbar }") # => {"foo:\tbar"=>nil}
That the tabulator is valid for separation is also explicitly stated by http://yaml.org/spec/1.2/spec.html#space/separation/ , which is referenced by quotation 1.
Quotations:
[1]: Normally, YAML insists the “:” mapping value indicator be separated from the value by white space. [from http://yaml.org/spec/1.2/spec.html#: mapping value//]
=end
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