if not a:
    print("List is empty")

Using the implicit booleanness of the empty list is quite Pythonic.

Answer from Patrick on Stack Overflow
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Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 53513 › how-do-i-check-if-a-list-is-empty
python - How do I check if a list is empty? - Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 16
7312
if not a:
    print("List is empty")

Using the implicit booleanness of the empty list is quite Pythonic.

2 of 16
1556

The Pythonic way to do it is from the PEP 8 style guide.

For sequences, (strings, lists, tuples), use the fact that empty sequences are false:

# Correct:
if not seq:
if seq:

# Wrong:
if len(seq):
if not len(seq):
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freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org › news › how-to-check-if-a-list-is-empty-in-python
Python isEmpty() equivalent – How to Check if a List is Empty in Python
April 19, 2023 - In this article, we saw how to check if a list is empty in Python by using three different methods.
Discussions
How do I check if this list is "empty"?
Well there are a few ways you could deal with this. First would be to check if userInput is an empty string before converting it to a list. Another possibility would be to filter the list to remove all empty strings, eg via a list comprehension. Or you could do the filtering inside the loop you already have that converts to integers. Or, again inside that loop, you could use a counter variable to keep track of how many integers you've converted, and print an error afterwards if it's 0. And so on. The main thing here is that you should get away from thinking about how to code something, but first work out what the steps should be, and only then code it. More on reddit.com
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1
December 8, 2022
What's the most pythonic way of checking if variable is None or empty string ""?
Both None and "" are falsy values so simply if not variable: will cover both those cases. This doesn't explicitly check for those values but if you're just checking for something not being set this is probably the way to go. More on reddit.com
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › python-check-if-list-empty-not
Check if a list is empty or not in Python - GeeksforGeeks
October 24, 2024 - In article we will explore the different ways to check if a list is empty with simple examples. The simplest way to check if a list is empty is by using Python's not operator.
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Python Morsels
pythonmorsels.com › checking-for-an-empty-list-in-python
Checking for an empty list in Python - Python Morsels
August 20, 2024 - Many Python users prefer to check for an empty list by evaluating the list's truthiness.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › how do i check if this list is "empty"?
r/learnpython on Reddit: How do I check if this list is "empty"?
December 8, 2022 -

I'm completely stumped on a computer science assignment because our lecturer has given us zero information. We're supposed to have the user input a list and check if the list is in decreasing order and print a suitable message if it is. That part works fine. However, if the list is "empty" (I'll explain the quotations in a second) then it should print the list is empty.

The problem is that, according to our brief we're supposed to use .split(",") in order to allow the user to separate their numbers with commas. The problem lies in the fact that even if a user hits enter without inputting anything, the list is still '1' long with just an empty string. I've been scouring the web to find out how to check if a list is empty. But all the tutorials have so far just been in relation to actually empty lists (as in, list = []). One did use the all() function to check that all items in the list were strings, which did work and let me print that the list is empty, but broke the original function. Could someone please help me I'm tearing my hair out with this.

--

def checkOrder():

# checks, etc.

integer_list = []

listLength = len(integer_list)

increasing = 0

decreasing = 0

singleValue = 0

# Converting inputted numbers into a split list

userInput = input("Please enter your numbers seperated by a comma (,):")

inputtedStrings = userInput.split(",")

for number in inputtedStrings:

inputtedIntegers = int(number)

integer_list.append(inputtedIntegers)

# Enumerating list

for i, val in enumerate(integer_list[:-1]):

if val <= integer_list[i+1]:

increasing = 1

elif val >= integer_list[i+1]:

decreasing = 1

# Check for a single value

if len(integer_list) == 1:

singleValue = 1

if len(integer_list) == 1 and

print("The list is empty.")

if increasing == 1:

print("The numbers are in increasing order.")

elif decreasing == 1 or singleValue == 1:

print("The numbers are in decreasing order.")

checkOrder()

--

Top answer
1 of 5
8
Well there are a few ways you could deal with this. First would be to check if userInput is an empty string before converting it to a list. Another possibility would be to filter the list to remove all empty strings, eg via a list comprehension. Or you could do the filtering inside the loop you already have that converts to integers. Or, again inside that loop, you could use a counter variable to keep track of how many integers you've converted, and print an error afterwards if it's 0. And so on. The main thing here is that you should get away from thinking about how to code something, but first work out what the steps should be, and only then code it.
2 of 5
3
arr = [''] print(any(arr)) # False any and all are pretty useful built-in functions for iterative boolean checks.
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Codedamn
codedamn.com › news › python
Python IsEmpty Function: A Detailed Guide
July 4, 2023 - A: Python does not have a built-in IsEmpty function because it provides other ways to check for emptiness.
Find elsewhere
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PythonHow
pythonhow.com › how › check-if-a-string-is-empty
Here is how to check if a string is empty in Python
In Python, you can check if a string is empty by using the 'not' operator as shown in the code above.
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Sentry
sentry.io › sentry answers › python › check if a string is empty in python
Check if a string is empty in Python | Sentry
May 15, 2023 - In Python, empty strings are considered equivalent to False for boolean operations.
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Flexiple
flexiple.com › python › check-if-list-is-empty-python
Python isEmpty() equivalent – How to Check if a List is Empty in Python - Flexiple - Flexiple
March 14, 2022 - Python isEmpty() equivalent – How to Check if a List is Empty in Python · Vinayaka Tadepalli · Software Developer · Published on Mon Mar 14 2022 · Check if a list is empty in Python by using the len() function or compare the list directly to an empty list.
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Medium
pavolkutaj.medium.com › how-to-check-if-a-list-dict-or-set-is-empty-in-python-as-per-pep8-35d8c64d07d0
How to Check if a List, Dict or Set is Empty in Python as per PEP8 | by Pavol Z. Kutaj | Medium
September 7, 2023 - in effect, it is saying that __nonzero__ is the interface for testing emptiness (__bool__ in python 3 → built-in bool())
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Vultr
docs.vultr.com › python › examples › check-if-a-list-is-empty
Python Program to Check If a List is Empty | Vultr Docs
December 6, 2024 - Checking if a list is empty in Python can be performed in several ways, each serving different readability and contextual needs. Using direct boolean evaluation is typically the simplest and most performant. However, explicitly comparing against an empty list or using the len() function might clarify intent in contexts where code readability is paramount.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › what's the most pythonic way of checking if variable is none or empty string ""?
r/learnpython on Reddit: What's the most pythonic way of checking if variable is None or empty string ""?
July 6, 2021 -

I'm trying to constantly check against any of those values but I don't want to keep repeating myself in code.

if variable is None or variable == "": do stuff

What are my options? Can I create somehow a class and check against that class?

if variable is MyNewClass: do stuff

How would I write such a class?

Thanks!

Top answer
1 of 4
6
Both None and "" are falsy values so simply if not variable: will cover both those cases. This doesn't explicitly check for those values but if you're just checking for something not being set this is probably the way to go.
2 of 4
4
if variable in (None, ""): ... That'll do the trick .
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DEV Community
dev.to › trinityyi › how-to-check-if-a-tuple-is-empty-in-python-2ie2
How to check if a tuple is empty in Python? - DEV Community
December 24, 2022 - In the above code example, we can see that the not operator returns True if the tuple is empty and False if the tuple is not empty. The not operator is a unary operator that returns the opposite of the value it is applied to. Using the not operator is considered the most Pythonic way to check if a object is empty.
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Better Stack
betterstack.com › community › questions › how-to-check-if-list-is-empty-in-python
How do I check if a list is empty in Python? | Better Stack Community
January 26, 2023 - In Python, a metaclass is the class of a class. It defines how a class behaves, including how it is created and how it manages its instances.
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Built In
builtin.com › articles › python-check-if-list-is-empty
Python Check if a List Is Empty: A Guide | Built In
November 7, 2024 - The most common way to test if a list is empty in Python is to use the truth value testing method with the not operator. The len() function is best if you are working with different data structures, while the == operator makes your code easier ...
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Python.org
discuss.python.org › ideas
Os.path.isempty() & pathlib.Path.is_empty() - Ideas - Discussions on Python.org
April 5, 2024 - Currently there’s no way to safely delete or overwrite a file or folder without losing data. I propose a function that allows you to check for this: def isempty(path: StrOrBytesPath, *, follow_symlinks: bool = True) -> bool: """Test whether a file or directory is empty.""" if not follow_symlinks and (islink(path) or isjunction(path)): return True if isfile(path): return not getsize(path) if not isdir(path): return True return not listdir(path) Ad...
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W3Schools
w3schools.com › python › python_dsa_stacks.asp
Stacks with Python
isEmpty: Checks if the stack is empty. Size: Finds the number of elements in the stack. Stacks can be implemented by using arrays or linked lists. Stacks can be used to implement undo mechanisms, to revert to previous states, to create algorithms ...
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Python
docs.python.org › 3 › library › heapq.html
heapq — Heap queue algorithm
These two aspects make it possible to view the heap as a regular Python list without surprises: heap[0] is the smallest item, and heap.sort() maintains the heap invariant!
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › how-to-check-if-a-list-is-empty-in-python
How to check if a list is empty in Python?
April 23, 2025 - In Python, a list is an ordered sequence that can hold several object types, such as integers, characters, or floats. In this article, we will show you how to check if the given input list is empty or NOT using Python. Below are the 5 methods to acco
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Medium
learnngrowit.medium.com › checking-if-a-stack-is-empty-or-not-in-python-4788314cba49
Checking if a Stack is Empty | Python | by Saurabh Mishra | Medium
April 7, 2023 - Checking if a Stack is Empty | Python Problem Write a function to check if a stack is empty or not. A stack is said to be empty if there are no elements in it. Example Suppose we have a stack s …
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