What is the difference between using spaces and tabs for indentation in Python code?

In Python, indentation has syntactic significance — it defines code blocks. The use of spaces and tabs for indentation is fundamentally different:

• Spaces — the recommended way of indentation in Python. Usually, 4 spaces per indentation level are used.
• Tab — a tab character, which can be displayed differently in various editors (e.g., 4 or 8 spaces).

Important:

• Python does not allow mixing spaces and tabs in the same indentation block — this will lead to a TabError.
• For consistency and to avoid errors, it is recommended to use only spaces.

Example of an error:

if True:
	print("Tab indentation")
    print("Space indentation")  # TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation

In summary, spaces are the standard and recommended by PEP 8, while tabs are discouraged due to potential compatibility and readability issues.