195
Python Performance: Why 'if not list' is 2x Faster Than Using len()
(blog.codingconfessions.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2025
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Exactly as you said yourself: Checking falsieness does not guarantee that the object has a length. There is considerable overlap between the two, and if it turns out that this check is a performance bottleneck (which I have a hard time imagining) it can be appropriate to check for falsieness instead of zero length. But in that case, don't be surprised if you suddenly get an obscure bug because of some custom object not behaving the way you assumed it would.
I guess my primary point is that we should be checking for what we actually care about, because that makes intent clear and reduces the chance for obscure bugs.