[iliaal]

Summary

Correct the README's blanket statement that normalization strips all C0 controls. Configured whitespace is collapsed to spaces first; an empty whitespace set intentionally preserves interior tabs inside a token. Show the resulting John\tSmith first-name/surname difference and distinguish edge trimming.

Documentation only: no production code, tests or dependencies changed. Add an Unreleased Changed entry, separate from the sole open sibling #24's Fixed entry.

Validation

• Fresh master 612656f5ccb5b2aaf0c89929ccf246bea77e1851: current README, source, Composer/CI configuration, open issues (none), and open PRs checked. No AGENTS or repository skills present.
• PHP 8.4.26 final full suite: 1366 tests, 3890 assertions, all pass with 256 MiB memory limit. Earlier unchanged-base run had two performance-timing failures; focused retry retained one timing failure. Final full run passed without changing source or tests.
• Existing intentional-tab regressions: 2 tests, 3 assertions, pass. Six direct default/empty-whitespace examples reproduce the documented source and fields. Independent review also passed 1,200 fresh-versus-warmed parser/configuration comparisons.
• PHPStan level 9 and PHP 8.5 config, PHP-CS-Fixer dry run, README/baseline/deprecation guards and git diff --check: pass.
• Clean merge-tree against current master and open sibling [Vulcan] Fix numeric symmetric nickname delimiters #24. All 87 remote blob hashes and file modes match the tested local tree a4ac37524125591fb90bdbea61c21541a5115d28.

Limitations: cloud fallback with retained development dependencies; local execution only on PHP 8.4.26, no fresh local Composer audit. No performance claim. CI run 39736460520 completed successfully for exact head a9ecf1ca624d9b42d8de399718cb1f89c989b381: all five jobs passed, none skipped. PHP 8.3/8.4/8.5 each passed 1366 tests / 3890 assertions and Composer audit found no advisories. The CI synthetic merge tree exactly matches the tested final tree.