this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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Python Performance: Why 'if not list' is 2x Faster Than Using len() (blog.codingconfessions.com)
submitted 3 weeks ago by jnovinger to c/python
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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's why there's type hinting, unit tests, and doc strings. I don't need to guess what the type is intended to be, I can see it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

But that's an extra step of logic u must hold in ur head while trying to understand 12 other things.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

What's the extra logic?

if x:

This always evaluates to True if it's non-empty. There's no extra logic.

If you have to keep 12 things in your head, your code is poorly structured/documented. A given function should be simple, making it plainly obvious what it's intended to do. Use type hints to specify what a variable should be, and use static analysis to catch most deviations. The more you trust your tools, the more assumptions you can safely make.