"/a" is not "/a" ?

Gary Herron gherron at islandtraining.com
Fri Mar 6 15:54:40 EST 2009


Robert Kern wrote:
> On 2009-03-06 14:23, Gary Herron wrote:
>> Robert Kern wrote:
>>> On 2009-03-06 13:46, Gary Herron wrote:
>>>> Emanuele D'Arrigo wrote:
>>>>> Hi everybody,
>>>>>
>>>>> while testing a module today I stumbled on something that I can work
>>>>> around but I don't quite understand.
>>>>
>>>> *Do NOT use "is" to compare immutable types.* **Ever! **
>>>
>>> Well, "foo is None" is actually recommended practice....
>>>
>>
>> But since newbies are always falling into this trap, it is still a good
>> rule to say:
>>
>> Newbies: Never use "is" to compare immutable types.
>>
>> and then later point out, for those who have absorbed the first rule:
>>
>> Experts: Singleton immutable types *may* be compared with "is",
>> although normal equality with == works just as well.
>
> That's not really true. If my object overrides __eq__ in a funny way, 
> "is None" is much safer.
>
> Use "is" when you really need to compare by object identity and not 
> value.

But that definition is the *source* of the trouble.  It is *completely* 
meaningless to newbies.   Until one has experience in programming in 
general and experience in Python in particular, the difference between 
"object identity" and "value" is a mystery.   

So in order to lead newbies away from this *very* common trap they often 
fall into, it is still a valid rule to say

    Newbies: Never use "is" to compare immutable types.

of even better

    Newbies: Never use "is" to compare anything.

This will help them avoid traps, and won't hurt their use of the 
language.  If they get to a point that they need to contemplate using 
"is", then almost be definition, they are not a newbie anymore, and the 
rule is still valid.

Gary Herron






More information about the Python-list mailing list