0 == False but [] != False? - comp.lang.python

Message from discussion 0 == False but [] != False?
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From: James Stroud <jstr...@mbi.ucla.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Subject: Re: 0 == False but [] != False?
Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 22:06:31 -0700
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Rajarshi wrote:
> This is a slightly naive question, but I know that 0 can be used to
> represent False. So
> 
> 
>>>>0 == False
> 
> True
> 
> But, I know I can use [] to represent False as in
> 
> 
>>>>if not []: print 'empty'
> 
> ...
> empty
> 
> But then doing the following gives a surprising (to me!) result
> 
> 
>>>>[] == False
> 
> False
> 
> Could anybody point out why this is the case?
> 
> Thanks,
> Rajarshi
> 

Meditate on:

py> isinstance(False, int)
True
py> isinstance([], int)
False
py> bool([])
False

James