Question:

How can I display tabs (tab characters) in a file ?
Is there any command in vi which displays tabs? 

Answer:

In command mode do "set list", and the ^I is the tab identfier.  To undo it do "set nolist". 

Enter :set list, or :set nolist to revert back.
 

Question:

How do I know the space s in a file are white spaces or tabs in UNIX?

Answer:

Method 1:

Use vi or vim,

After opening the file, type :set list, all the tabs will shown as “^I”

$ vi abc

This file^Icontains some spaces  and^I^Itabs.$
Do you^I see any ^I ^I tab?$
~

Method 2:

Use cat command with -vt flags.

$ cat -vt abc

This file^Icontains some spaces  and^I^Itabs.
Do you^I see any ^I ^I tab?

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