Explanation of formatter defaults

[jsejcksn]

Hello: I created this because I am seeking knowledge that I didn't find by searching. This isn't an issue, so I'm not creating it as one, however — and I want to emphasize this part strongly — my goal is not to create a discussion about opinions — rather I simply want to understand this:

For each default formatter value: what was the rationale behind choosing it?

The formatter documentation (📌) seems to suggest that it relies on the defaults of Prettier…

Biome is an opinionated formatter that has the goal to stop all ongoing debates over styles. It follows a similar philosophy to Prettier, only supporting a few options to avoid debates over styles, turning into debates over Biome options. It deliberately resists the urge to add new options to prevent bike-shed discussions in teams so they can focus on what really matters instead.

…and it lists some Differences with Prettier (📌), even explaining general Formatter Option Philosophy (📌), yet there are still other differences with Prettier's defaults that aren't included — one example is tab as the default indentStyle (📌). (Perhaps that one was motivated by the justifications at this issue? prettier/prettier#7475 — Change useTabs to true by default)

I found this issue, but it seems incomplete: biomejs/biome#739 — ☂️ Prettier Divergence collection from the Prettier challenge

The philosophy (📌) includes this item in the "Project Management" section:

Clear messaging of decisions. The team might evaluate options and make decisions using private channels. While the team will try to keep discussions using public channels like GitHub discussions or Discord, frequent private check-in are the norm, due to the nature of the private company. When decisions occur via private channels, the team has to commit to communicate these decisions using the public channels.

I hope — toward that goal — a team member can share here the rationale for each formatter default (or a permalink if I've somehow missed it elsewhere). Thanks!

[zorro901]

rome had this discussion.
rome/tools#425