Tabs in print are not consistent python

Question

I want to have real tabs in a print but \\t only puts spaces. Eg:

 first:ThisIsLong         second:Short
 first:Short         second:ThisIsLong
         


        

Answer 1

Instead of using tab (\t), I suggest to use string formatting using printf-style formatting or str.format:

rows = [
    ['first:ThisIsLong', 'second:Short'],
    ['first:Short', 'second:ThisIsLong'],
    ['first:ThisIsEvenLonger', 'second:Short'],
]
for first, second in rows:
    print('%-25s %s' % (first, second))

or

print('{:<25} {}'.format(first, second))