Truthiness is so fundamental, in most languages, all values have a truthiness, whether they are bool or not. Even in C, int x = value(); if (!x) x_is_not_zero(); is valid and idiomatic.
I appreciate the point that calling a method gives more context cues and potentially aids readability, but in this case I feel like not is the python idiom people expect and reads just fine.
I don’t know, it throws me off but perhaps because I always use len in this context. Is there any generally applicable practical reason why one would prefer “not” over len? Is it just compactness and being pythonic?
It’s very convenient not to have to remember a bunch of different means/methods for performing the same conceptual operation. You might call len(x) == 0 on a list, but next time it’s a dict. Time after that it’s a complex number. The next time it’s an instance. not works in all cases.
I feel like that only serves the purpose up to the point that methods are not over reaching otherwise then it turns into remembering what a method does for a bunch of unrelated objects.
Truthiness is so fundamental, in most languages, all values have a truthiness, whether they are bool or not. Even in C,
int x = value(); if (!x) x_is_not_zero();is valid and idiomatic.I appreciate the point that calling a method gives more context cues and potentially aids readability, but in this case I feel like
notis the python idiom people expect and reads just fine.I don’t know, it throws me off but perhaps because I always use len in this context. Is there any generally applicable practical reason why one would prefer “not” over len? Is it just compactness and being pythonic?
It’s very convenient not to have to remember a bunch of different means/methods for performing the same conceptual operation. You might call
len(x) == 0on a list, but next time it’s a dict. Time after that it’s a complex number. The next time it’s an instance.notworks in all cases.I feel like that only serves the purpose up to the point that methods are not over reaching otherwise then it turns into remembering what a method does for a bunch of unrelated objects.