[Python-ideas] having a "iterable" built-in

[Cameron Simpson]

On 29Apr2009 20:47, Tarek Ziad? <ziade.tarek at gmail.com> wrote:
| unless I missed it, I couldn't find a built-in to check if an object
| is iterable,
| 
| so I wrote this function :
| 
| def iterable(ob):
|     try:
|         iter(ob)
|     except TypeError:
|         return False
|     return True

This is actually a bad way of doing it. Suppose using the iterator has
side effects? For example, "ob" might be a store-of-recent-messages,
which empties after they have been collected. Or a file() attached to a
pipe.
-- 
Cameron Simpson <cs at zip.com.au> DoD#743
http://www.cskk.ezoshosting.com/cs/

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