expand(1)
and unexpand(1)
$tabstop = 4; @lines_without_tabs =
expand(@lines_with_tabs); @lines_with_tabs =
unexpand(@lines_without_tabs);
expand(1) and
unexpand(1) do. Given a line with tabs in it, expand will
replace the tabs with the appropriate number of spaces. Given a line with
or without tabs in it, unexpand will add tabs when it can save bytes by
doing so. Invisible compression with plain ascii!