Final answer:
The 'white space rule' in programming refers to how white spaces are ignored by the compiler or interpreter but used by developers to make code more readable. While essential for human readability, white spaces have no significance in the execution of code, except in languages where indentation defines code blocks, such as Python.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 'white space rule' you mentioned in your question seems to be related to the domain of programming, specifically referring to how white spaces (such as spaces, tabs, and newlines) are handled within a block of code or data. In many programming languages, white spaces are used to make the code more readable and to separate tokens, but the languages are designed to ignore them when the code is actually executed. This is because machines do not require these spaces to understand the code, whereas humans benefit from a neatly formatted and organized layout.
For example, in Python:
if x == 10: print('x is ten.')
This code can also be written as:
if x==10:print('x is ten.')Both of these will execute in the same way, but the first example uses white space for readability. However, it's important to note that in some languages, like Python, indentation is syntactically significant and is used to define blocks of code, so it's not ignored in these contexts.