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easy question on parsing python: "is not None"

Terry Reedy tjreedy at udel.edu
Mon Aug 9 12:28:17 EDT 2010 
On 8/9/2010 7:41 AM, saeed.gnu wrote:
> "x is y"          means   "id(y) == id(y)"
> "x is not y"      means   "id(x) != id(x)"
> "x is not None"   means   "id(x) != id(None)"
>
> "x is not None"  is a really silly statement!!

Wrong. It is exactly right when that is what one means and is the 
STANDARD IDIOM.

 > because id(None) and id
> of any constant object is not predictable!

This is silly. The id of None and of any other object are predictably 
different.

 > I don't know whay people  use "is" instead of "==".

Because it is the right thing to do!

> you should write "if x!=None" instead of "x  is not None"

Wrong. It is trivial to make a class whose objects compare == to None.

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy
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