Use with AIif not a:
    print("List is empty")

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

Answer from Patrick on Stack Overflow
🌐
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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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 the code above, we used an if statement and the not operator to check if the people_list was empty. You can use the len() function in Python to return the number of elements in a data structure.
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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()

--

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Sentry
sentry.io › sentry answers › python › check if a list is empty in python
Python: Check if a List Is Empty (Pythonic Way) | Sentry
September 24, 2026 - Test whether a Python list is empty using the idiomatic `if not my_list` check recommended by PEP-8, the official Python style guide, shown with a working example
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Checking for an empty list in Python
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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
The most common approach is using the truth value testing method with the not operator, but you can also check lists using the len() function and the == operator. Here’s how each method works.
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Curict
en.curict.com › item › 9a › 9a5983d.html
Checking if a Python list is empty
There are several ways to check if a list contains any elements, such as using “if not”, the built-in len function, or comparing it to an empty array. In Python, an empty sequence (an empty list) is considered False, so you can use the if not operator to check if a list is empty.
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Python Morsels
pythonmorsels.com › checking-for-an-empty-list-in-python
Checking for an empty list in Python - Python Morsels
July 18, 2026 - Python programmers typically check for empty lists by relying on truthiness.
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AskPython
askpython.com › python › list › check-if-list-is-empty
Check if a List is Empty - 3 Easy Methods - AskPython
July 17, 2020 - Now, having understood the working of a list, let us now understand different methods to check whether a list is empty or not. Python len() function can be used to check if a list is empty.
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Medium
medium.com › @Doug-Creates › check-if-a-list-is-empty-in-python-8a2b2406ec2c
Check if a List is Empty in Python | by Doug Creates | Medium
March 28, 2024 - Determining if a list is empty involves checking its length or directly evaluating its truthiness, a common task in Python programming to ensure data structures like lists are populated before proceeding with operations, thereby avoiding errors or unnecessary computations.
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Substack
brandlust.substack.com › ai did exactly what i asked. that's the problem.
AI Did Exactly What I Asked. That's the Problem.
April 8, 2026 - It’s what we advise our clients to do!!! But it was sitting on my ever expanding AI Agent bucket list. So yesterday I sat down with Claude Code and we built it. In one day, we produced a Python pipeline connecting to the Fathom API and pulling all 72 meetings.
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iO Flood
ioflood.com › blog › python-empty-list-guide-to-using-empty-lists-in-python
Python Empty List | Guide to Using Empty Lists in Python
June 27, 2024 - So, whether you’re a beginner ... embark on this journey! You can create an empty list in Python using either square brackets [] or the list() function....
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CodeFatherTech
codefather.tech › home › blog › 3 simple ways to check if a list is empty in python
3 Simple Ways to Check If a List is Empty in Python
December 8, 2024 - To check if a Python list is empty you can use the len() built-in function that returns the number of elements in a list. You can use this function together with an if/else statement to make the behavior of your application flexible.
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Python
docs.python.org › 3 › library › collections.html
collections — Container datatypes
The instance’s contents are kept in a regular list, which is accessible via the data attribute of UserList instances. The instance’s contents are initially set to a copy of list, defaulting to the empty list []. list can be any iterable, for example a real Python list or a UserList object.
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Protocol Buffers
protobuf.dev › programming-guides › proto3
Language Guide (proto 3) | Protocol Buffers Documentation
When you run the Protobuf compiler on a .proto that uses an enum, the generated code will have a corresponding enum for Java, Kotlin, or C++, or a special EnumDescriptor class for Python that’s used to create a set of symbolic constants with integer values in the runtime-generated class.
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i2tutorials
i2tutorials.com › home › blogs › how to check if a list is empty in python?
How to check if a list is empty in Python? | i2tutorials
December 23, 2021 - The size of our list is found out by calling the __len__() function using the list object and once we get the size, we can confirm if it’s empty or not by comparing it with 0. ... We import the numpy package before implementing this method. We first convert a Python list to a numpy array