code: def _count_spaces_startswith(line):
      '''
      Count the number of spaces before the first character
      '''
      if line.split('#')[0].strip() == "":
          return None
  
      spaces = 0
      for i in line:
          if i.isspace():
              spaces += 1
          else:
              return spacef _count_spaces_startswith(line):
      '''
      Count the number of spaces before the first character
      '''
      if line.split('#')[0].strip() == "":
          return None
  
      spaces = 0
      for i in line:
          if i.isspace():
              spaces += 1
          else:
              return spaces
docs: Count the number of spaces before the first character