What is the difference between using padding-left and margin-left in the following example?
The left div is positioned absolutely, while the right div is either positioned with padding-left / margin-left. Can they be used interchangeably here? And are there any implications if picking one or the other?
The primary difference will be the computed width, as suggested by bfavaretto. Another difference will be the location of the border, if you were to choose to add one. Take a look at this update to your fiddle to see what I mean.
You might also notice a difference in the default placement of any background image/gradient that you apply, since
marginis added to the outside andpaddingis added to the inside of the box.