two EmptyLines after import statements

[stepancar]

hello! Thank you for this project.
How to add rule 'two newlines after import statements'?

import * as React from 'react';
import * as moment from 'moment';


export class TwoEmptyLinesBetweenCodeAndImportStatements {
}

Thank you!

[Pajn]

I had a custom rule (pre 3.0.0, haven't updated it) for blank lines above methods, may I propose a generic rule? Maybe something like:

"blank-lines": [true, {
  "after-imports": 2,
  "above-conditionals": 1,
  "above-methods": 1
}

where the numbers can allow different teams to configure their preferences.

[stepancar]

@Pajn good idea!

[rnfomin]

@stepancar, @Pajn - This will be really nice rule. Thank you.

[eXod84]

It will be great to have that rule. Thanks!

[myserge]

Nice rule. Thank you.

[stepancar]

@Pajn could you share your custom rule, please?

[Pajn]

It's written by modifying a compiled rule, so it isn't super pretty.
https://gist.github.com/Pajn/ebd46aa0b38cf79ab29b

[atrauzzi]

I definitely like this style and would love to see something offered in tslint's core for newlines after:

• Imports (2)
• Blocks (1)

Also would love this same mechanism to also enforce zero newlines when closing blocks.

[lucasklaassen]

@Pajn any further movement on this?

[JoshuaKGoldberg]

IMO this doesn't seem like a good fit with TSLint core. We already have no-consecutive-blank-lines and have been slowly moving away from whitespace/formatting rules in favor of recommending Prettier. This also seems like unnecessary whitespace in the file that just makes it harder to read more of the file at once.

@stepancar / co., can you provide a justification for why this rule should exist?

[atrauzzi]

Whoa, @JoshuaKGoldberg the idea here isn't to get your take on what is good or not. It also certainly isn't to force everyone into using prettier (my take is that it creates very ugly, overly-compact code).

---

Subjective

I'm not sure optimizing for "reading more of the file at once" is such a great idea either. I use two consecutive blank lines after import blocks to improve readability to allow blocks representing the static structure of my application to stand independent of regular statements. At a glance, this gives me a very easy way to move through multiple files, scanning their dependencies.

---

None of this means I want to impose the practice on others. At the same time though, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask that a linter support configurations specific to multiple organizations.

Think I'm gonna reach for the adage that what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander here.

[JoshuaKGoldberg]

☹ @atrauzzi I'm sorry if my post came off too strong - removed the Resolution: Declined label from alongside Status: In Discussion.

For some more context, TSLint core's been moving away from formatting rules for some time now. Examples: #3995 / #3568 / #2814 / #3330 / #1306. In particular, per the discussion in #3330: every feature comes with a maintenance cost. The question here is whether the added maintenance for this formatting rule would be worth the benefit to users. How can we tell what's good for users? Normally TSLint goes by something like a casual mixture of collective gut intuition, well-explained use cases, and 👍 reactions to issues.

Suggestion: how about putting this in either tslint-consistent-codestyle or a separate repository + npm package? Having your own npm package in particular would let you iterate on it much more rapidly, instead of waiting for TSLint's release process.

[atrauzzi]

I get that there's a lot of hype for prettier, but I think there's warranted skepticism towards the tool and its "opinions". I've looked them over, but I apologize, these linked issues don't appear to serve as explanation. At best, they seem like rushed reasoning. Prettier even says it in its project description: It's opinionated, so who is this project serving to point people in that direction?
If I know anything about our peers, you can usually count on most people to just give up and walk away than go through the toil of having to prove down their use case. For better and for worse. But either way, it's important when that happens to not think the argument for prettier was validated.

Anyway -- the truth is, any discussion about prettier itself is beside the point: tslint punting on formatting is like a restaurant saying it's not going to serve drinks anymore.
What is a linter if you take these formatting concepts away? I have no idea how to make custom rules and don't think tslint offers value if its users are required to delve into internals. So, that's something to consider when thinking about "what's good for users".

I - and many others I suspect - rely on tslint to be easy to use and a one-stop-shop.
Look at the number of issues linked to this one. Those are all probably worth 20 👍 apiece, plus any found within. 😉
Coming back to thinking about what's good for users, it would seem like it's time to put cognitive overhead and tooling bloat on the matrix and start weighing things out giving those principles some credence.

Note: None of this is to run afoul of seeming ungrateful. I do FOSS contributions where I think I'm most qualified and effective. The best I can offer here is critical discussion, so please -- don't take any of this wrong. I just think the minimalism here is starting to cut into the bone.

Thanks for hearing me out. 😄

[JoshuaKGoldberg]

💀 It's time! 💀

TSLint is being deprecated and no longer accepting pull requests for major new changes or features. See #4534. 😱

If you'd like to see this change implemented, you have two choices:

• Recommended: Check if this is available in ESLint + typescript-eslint ✅
• Not Recommended: Fork TSLint locally 🤷‍♂️

👋 It was a pleasure open sourcing with you!

If you believe this message was posted here in error, please comment so we can re-open the issue!

[pvinis]

Time to make a new issue for eslint then :D

[JoshuaKGoldberg]

🤖 Beep boop! 👉 TSLint is deprecated 👈 (#4534) and you should switch to typescript-eslint! 🤖

🔒 This issue is being locked to prevent further unnecessary discussions. Thank you! 👋