I'm a Python dev who uses this feature frequently. But the more I use Python (and the more I use Rust in my spare time), the more I realize that I use it only b

I'm a Python dev who uses this feature frequently. But the more I use Python (and the more I use Rust in my spare time), the more I realize that I use it only because it's what Python expects me to do. If it was up to me I'd much rather use if my_container.empty(): # do stuff than if not my_container: # do stuff The second implementation behaves the same if either my_container is None or if my_container is empty (or if my_container is 0 or ""...), whereas the first implementation allows me to handle those cases differently. The first implementation is also more explicit and easier to understand on a first read. It's also easier to debug. Is users supposed to be None in your example? Possibly, but your code doesn't give me any hints. Is my_container supposed to be None in my example? Probably not based on the way I explicitly used the .empty() method.