Post #4350726
2026-08-03 04:22 UTC
Python Tip #214 (of 365):
Use truthiness for integers with caution.
I DO rely on truthiness checks for integers, but not always. I would recommend only using them when they seem to improve readability.
I find this:
if hours: ...
More readable than this:
if hours > 0: ...
But I find this:
if number % 2 != 0: ...
More readable than this:
if number % 2: ...
🧵 (1/2)
#Python #DailyPythonTip
Replies (1)
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@treyhunner@mastodon.social 2026-08-03 04:22
I find that I appreciate truthiness when it feels like we're asking "does this exist". I think of this question in the case of the hours example above but not for the remainder of division by 2. If you avoid truthiness for numbers altogether, I wouldn't blame you. I rely on truthiness checks heavily for checking non-emptiness and non-noneness, but I rarely use them for checking non-zeroness. It CAN be handy, but I do sometimes find it less readable. 🧵 (2/2)