Python type and isinstance - Get the type of an object and check if the object is list

type is a Python built-in function that returns type of object.

a = 1
b = 'Microsoft'
c = [3, 4]
d = {'book': 27, 'pen': 91}
e = (4, 5, 6, 7)
f = {'mac', 'book'}

print(type(a))  # <class 'int'>
print(type(b))  # <class 'str'>
print(type(c))  # <class 'list'>
print(type(d))  # <class 'dict'>
print(type(e))  # <class 'tuple'>
print(type(f))  # <class 'set'>

type is a special reserved word in Python so functions or variables should not be named type.

Type

s = 'a'

if type(s) == str:
    print('a is str')
else:
    print('a is not str')

# a is str

s is a string so type(s) == str is true. The right value is str, not 'str'. So it's meaningless to compare type(s) and 'str'.

s = 'a'

if type(s) == 'str':
    print('a is str')
else:
    print('a is not str')

# a is not str

Isinstance

isinstance is a function to check the object type.

a = [3, 4]

if isinstance(a, list):
    print('a is list.')
else:
    print('a is not list.')

# a is list.

The first argument is an object, and the second is a class itself. isinstance(a, list) returns True if a is a list or False if a is not a list.

Another example:

a = [3, 4]

if isinstance(a, tuple):
    print('a is tuple.')
else:
    print('a is not tuple.')

# a is not tuple.

Class inheritance

class Product:
    def __init__(self, price):
        self.price = price


class Book(Product):
    def __init__(self, price, page):
        super().__init__(price)
        self.page = page


b = Book(price=12, page=80)

if type(b) == Product:
    print('b is a product')
else:
    print('b is not a product')

# b is not a product

if type(b) == Book:
    print('b is a book')
else:
    print('b is not a book')

# b is a book

b is the Book object and Book inherits Product. type(b) simply returns Book so you can't get what the object inherits from by using type. But isinstance gets all the inheritance of an object.

class Product:
    def __init__(self, price):
        self.price = price


class Book(Product):
    def __init__(self, price, page):
        super().__init__(price)
        self.page = page


b = Book(price=12, page=80)

if isinstance(b, Product):
    print('b is a product')
else:
    print('b is not a product')

# b is a product

if isinstance(b, Book):
    print('b is a book')
else:
    print('b is not a book')

# b is a book

Because b is a Book, and therefore, a Product. isinstance(b, Product) returns True.