An extra space counts as a code as well at the beginning of the code as well?

Question

=begin
hey there
=ends
puts "this is me"
=begin
bye there
=end

here in 2nd begin-end comment tag, there's a space before the sign =. So does that space count as well because it's showing error when i code this.

Answer 1

Although it has been said that whitespaces are ignored by the interpreter there are some exceptions, do not put the space as it creates error