Python tab space error

Python tab space error

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(Python) inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation #

The Python «TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation» occurs when we mix tabs and spaces in the same code block. To solve the error, remove the spacing and only use tabs or spaces, but don’t mix the two in the same code block.

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

The first line in the code block was indented using tabs, and the second — using spaces and tabs.

The screenshot shows that the print(‘a’) line was indented using tabs (arrows), and the print(‘b’) line was indented using spaces and tabs (dots and arrows).

Make sure the lines of code in the code block at indented to the same level.

Your error message should show the exact location where the error is raised, so you can remove the whitespace and consistently indent the lines in the code block using tabs or spaces.

If you use VSCode, you can solve the error by using the «Convert indentation to spaces» or «Convert indentation to tabs» commands:

1. press CTRL + Shift + P or ( ⌘ + Shift + P on Mac) to open the command palette.
2. type: «convert indentation to»
3. Select your preferred option
4. Save the file

If you use VSCode, you can show whitespace characters by:

1. pressing CTRL + Shift + P or ( ⌘ + Shift + P on Mac) to open the command palette.
2. typing «open workspace settings»
3. typing renderwhitespace
4. setting it to all

If you render whitespace characters in your IDE, tabs should show as arrows and spaces should show as dots.

It is a matter of personal preference if you use only tabs or only spaces, but make sure not to mix the two.

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Facing Issues On IT

In Python, TabError is sub class of IndentationError. Python allows code style by using indentation by space or tabs. If you are using both while writing code for indentation then Python encounter “TabError : inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation”.

In Python, Indentation is important because the language doesn’t depend on syntax like curly brackets to denote where a block of code starts and finishes . Indents tell Python what lines of code are part of what code blocks.

Note: Syntax error should not be handle through exception handling it should be fixed in your code.

You can see complete Python exception hierarchy through this link : Python: Built-in Exceptions Hierarchy.

Example

Consider a below scenario where indentation is use by implementing space and tab both on line 3 (used space for indentation) while in line 4 (used tabs for indentation). When you will run the below program it will throw exception as mentioned in output.

Output

File “C:/Users/saurabh.gupta/Desktop/Python Example/Exception Test.py”, line 10
return total
^
TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation

Solution

To resolve this issue, you have done some minor change in your code for indentation by either space or tabs and run the program will work fine.

Output

Learn Python exception handling in more detain in topic Python: Exception Handling

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How to Avoid ‘TabError: Inconsistent Use of Tabs and Spaces in Indentation’?

TabError inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation

In Python, You can indent using tabs and spaces in Python. Both of these are considered to be whitespaces when you code. So, the whitespace or the indentation of the very first line of the program must be maintained all throughout the code. This can be 4 spaces, 1 tab or space. But you must use either a tab or a space to indent your code.

But if you mix the spaces and tabs in a program, Python gets confused. It then throws an error called “TabError inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation”.

In this article, we delve into the details of this error and also look at its solution.

How to fix ‘TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation’?

Example:

Output:

When the code is executed, the “TabError inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation”. This occurs when the code has all the tabs and spaces mixed up.

To fix this, you have to ensure that the code has even indentation. Another way to fix this error is by selecting the entire code by pressing Ctrl + A. Then in the IDLE, go to the Format settings. Click on Untabify region.

Solution:

1. Add given below line at the beginning of code

2. Python IDLE

In case if you are using python IDLE, select all the code by pressing (Ctrl + A) and then go to Format >> Untabify Region

So, always check the placing of tabs and spaces in your code properly. If you are using a text editor such as Sublime Text, use the option Convert indentation to spaces to make your code free from the “TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation” error.

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Fix TabError in Python

Python is one of the most widely used programming languages. Unlike other programming languages like Java and C++, etc., which uses curly braces for a code block (like a loop block or an if condition block), it uses indentation to define a block of code.

Indentation Rule in Python

According to the conventions defined, Python uses four spaces or a tab for indentation. A code block starts with a tab indentation, and the next line of code after that block is unindented.

The leading whitespaces determine the indentation level at the beginning of the line. We need to increase the indent level to group the statements for a particular code block.

Similarly, we need to lower the indent level to close the grouping.

Causes of TabError in Python

Python uses four spaces or a tab for indentation, but if we use both while writing the code, it raises TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation . In the following code, we have indented the second and third line using tab and the fourth line using spaces.

Fix TabError in Python

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to fix this error automatically. We have to check each line within a code block.

In our case, we can see the tabs symbol like this —-* . Whitespaces do not have this symbol. So we can fix the code by consistently using four spaces or tabs.

In our case, we will replace the spaces with tabs to fix the TabError . Following is the correct code.

I am Fariba Laiq from Pakistan. An android app developer, technical content writer, and coding instructor. Writing has always been one of my passions. I love to learn, implement and convey my knowledge to others.

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Fix: Indentation Error Python

Python is an emerging programming language which was first released in 1991. The language is known for its large comprehensive library and supports several programming paradigms such as functional, imperative, procedural, and object-oriented.

Indentation Error in Python

The ‘Indentation Error: Expected an indented block’ occurs for all sorts of users; whether they are newbies or experienced. Since Python arranges all of its code by correct whitespaces, if you have a bad indentation, the code will not compile and you will be returned an error message.

According to the conventions followed in PEP8, there should be four whitespaces where required. It is ideal for every programmer to use proper indentations so code readability improves.

What causes Indentation Error in Python?

Like mentioned before, this error primarily occurs because there are space or tab errors in your code. Since Python uses procedural language, you may experience this error if you have not placed the tabs/spaces correctly. The program may run properly but if the interpreter finds this error, the error message will come forth in the middle. Some of the causes of the error are:

• You are using both spaces and tabs in your code. If both are used interchangeably, the interpreter will not be able to determine which item to use.
• You have placed some indent wrong. If the indentation practice is not followed, you will have this error inevitably.
• You forgot to indent the compound statements such as ‘if’, ‘for’, ‘while’ etc.
• You forgot to indent user-defined functions or classes.

Solution 1: Checking for wrong white spaces/tabs

There is no instant fix for this issue. Since the code is yours, you have to go through each line and see where you made the mistake. There are several blocks in code with respect to the structure. If there is an ‘If’ statement, there needs to be an indentation to the code which follows it.

Block structure visualizing indentation

Check out the diagram above. See that the indentation for a specific block remains the same throughout the code even if a new block is introduced in the middle. Make sure that your indentation is consistent. If you are using spaces, always use spaces and if you are using tabs, always use tabs. The mixing of two will cause issues.

Correct indentation is shown in the example above. See the ‘for’ loop for starters. Everything inside the ‘for’ loop must be indented. Inside ‘for’ loop, we have an ‘if’ statement. Inside the ‘if’ statement, everything must be further indented.

You can easily check where the indentation error occurred by checking the error log and seeing the line from where the error originated.

Solution 2: Enabling tab/space symbols in the editor

If you are having a hard time indenting your code by ‘guess’ as all programmers do, you can enable the symbols of tab/space in your IDE or code editor. This option will enable small ‘dots’ in your code where each dot represents a space or tab. You can use this to indent code more properly and make sure that there is no extra indent or some is missing.

In this example, we will take Notepad++ and see how you can enable the symbols. If you are using another software for code editing, you can enable the setting specific to it.

1. Press View > Show Symbol > Show Whitespace and TABEnabling Whitespace and Tab – Notepad++

1. Now the option is enabled. You can also enable the Indent Guide so things get easier for you.

Sample code with correct indentation

Check the example above. See the indentation implemented after each class. Each space is represented by a single dot. After making changes to the wrong indentation on your code, run it again and see if this solves the issue.

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You can indent code using either spaces or tabs in a Python program. If you try to use a combination of both in the same block of code, you’ll encounter the “TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation” error.

In this guide, we discuss what this error means and why it is raised. We’ll walk through an example of this error so you can figure out how to solve it in your code.

TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation

While the Python style guide does say spaces are the preferred method of indentation when coding in Python, you can use either spaces or tabs.

Indentation is important in Python because the language doesn’t depend on syntax like curly brackets to denote where a block of code starts and finishes. Indents tell Python what lines of code are part of what code blocks.

Consider the following program:

numbers = [8, 7, 9, 8, 7]

def calculate_average_age():
average = sum(numbers) / len(numbers)
print(average)

Without indentation, it is impossible to know what lines of code should be part of the calculate_average_age function and what lines of code are part of the main program.

You must stick with using either spaces or tabs. Do not mix tabs and spaces. Doing so will confuse the Python interpreter and cause the “TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation” error.

An Example Scenario

We want to build a program that calculates the total value of the purchases made at a donut store. To start, let’s define a list of purchases:

purchases = [2.50, 4.90, 5.60, 2.40]

Next, we’re going to define a function that calculates the total of the “purchases” list:

def calculate_total_purchases(purchases):
	total = sum(purchases)
    return total

Our function accepts one parameter: the list of purchases which total value we want to calculate. The function returns the total value of the list we specify as a parameter.

We use the sum() method to calculate the total of the numbers in the “purchases” list.

If you copy this code snippet into your text editor, you may notice the “return total” line of code is indented using spaces whereas the “total = sum(purchases)” line of code uses tabs for indentation. This is an important distinction.

Next, call our function and print the value it returns to the console:

total_purchases = calculate_total_purchases(purchases)
print(total_purchases)

Our code calls the calculate_total_purchases() function to calculate the total value of all the purchases made at the donut store. We then print that value to the console. Let’s run our code and see what happens:

  File "test1.py", line 5
	return total
           	^
TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation

Our code returns an error.

The Solution

We’ve used spaces and tabs to indent our code. In a Python program, you should stick to using either one of these two methods of indentation.

To fix our code, we’re going to change our function so that we only use spaces:

def calculate_total_purchases(purchases):
    total = sum(purchases)
    return total

Our code uses 4 spaces for indentation. Let’s run our program with our new indentation:

Our program successfully calculates the total value of the donut purchases.

In the IDLE editor, you can remove the indentation for a block of code by following these instructions:

• Select the code whose indentation you want to remove
• Click “Menu” -> “Format” -> “Untabify region”
• Insert the type of indentation you want to use

This is a convenient way of fixing the formatting in a document, assuming you are using the IDLE editor. Many other editors, like Sublime Text, have their own methods of changing the indentation in a file.

Conclusion

The Python “TabError: inconsistent use of tabs and spaces in indentation” error is raised when you try to indent code using both spaces and tabs.

You fix this error by sticking to either spaces or tabs in a program and replacing any tabs or spaces that do not use your preferred method of indentation. Now you have the knowledge you need to fix this error like a professional programmer!