[Numpy-discussion] Compare strings.array with None.

[Todd Miller]

On Mon, 2004-09-06 at 23:11, Shin wrote:
> I got the following strange behavior in numarray.strings.
> Is it intended or a bug? Thanks.
> 
> >>> from numarray import *
> >>> x = [1,2]
> >>> x == None
> 0
> >>> from numarray import strings
> >>> x = strings.array(['a','b'])
> >>> x == None
> TypeError
> (And exit from mainloop.)

Here's what I get:

>>> x == None
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: Must define both shape & itemsize if buffer is None

I have a couple comments:

1.  It's a nasty looking exception but I think it should be an
exception.  When 'x' is a CharArray,  what that expression means is to
compute a boolean array where each element contains the result of a
string comparison.  IMHO, in the context of arrays,  it makes no sense
to compare a string with None because it is known in advance that the
result will be False.

2. The idiom I think you're looking for is:

>>> x is None
False

This means that the identity of x (basically the object address) is not
the same as the identity of the singleton object None.  This is useful
for testing function parameters where the default is None.

Regards,
Todd