[Tutor] OT (probably): How to change default tab key value to 4 spaces in GNOME Terminal?

[boB Stepp]

Linux Mint, Python 3.7.5, GNOME Terminal 3.28.1

A while back I became tired of the default Python interpreter prompt
">>>" and replaced it with the Python version number, e.g., "3.7.5:
".  But my original version that I have used for years did not take
into account the secondary default prompt "..." and where it put the
cursor.  For whatever reason my annoyance level with this flaw rose
high enough today that I fixed it as follows:

"""Configure prompt appearance in Python REPL."""

import sys

py_version = sys.version.split()[0]
sys.ps1 = py_version + ":  "

# Ensure cursor lines up with previous line of code:
sys.ps2 = "..." + " " * (len(sys.ps1) - 3)

This does what I want, but now there is a new annoyance:

3.7.5:  def f(s):
...                   print(s)
...
3.7.5:  f('Jeremy')
Jeremy

In the second line as I was typing it I pressed <tab> when the cursor
was lined up with the "d" in "def".  What I see in the terminal is the
"p" in "print" lining up under the colon as I have shown above.  I
understand that the default terminal behavior is that <tab> shifts in
8 columns wide tab stops.  I would like to change this behavior for
when I am in the Python interpreter to have <tab> always shift 4
columns from the starting cursor position.  Does anyone know how to
accomplish this?

After some searching online the best advice I could find was to enter
at the command prompt "tabs -4".  I tried this and as far as I can
tell it did not work for me while in the Python interpreter.  However,
in drafting this email to Tutor when I actually copy and paste what
looks like the above code in my terminal window actually pastes into
this Gmail message as:

3.7.5:  def f(s):
...             print(s)
...
3.7.5:  f('Jeremy')
Jeremy

Hmm.  That is strange!  Pasting what appears different in my terminal
shows up in Gmail like I want it to appear in the terminal.  That is
suggestive of the tab character in the terminal has the value I want,
but if this is so, where are the additional 4 spaces/columns coming
from?


-- 
boB