if the else short form

[Emile van Sebille]

On 9/29/2010 5:53 AM Philip Semanchuk said...
>
> Does Python make any guarantee that int(True) == 1 and int(False) == 0 will always hold, or are their values an implementation detail?
>

I had exactly this same question occur to me yesterday, and yes, I 
believe it does.  From 
http://docs.python.org/reference/datamodel.html#objects-values-and-types

Booleans
These represent the truth values False and True. The two objects 
representing the values False and True are the only Boolean objects. The 
Boolean type is a subtype of plain integers, and Boolean values behave 
like the values 0 and 1, respectively, in almost all contexts, the 
exception being that when converted to a string, the strings "False" or 
"True" are returned, respectively.

Emile