Python - How would I go about doing this?

Question

Here's an example code:

def test(something=None):
    test = something is None
    test2 = something is str

    if(test == True):
        return "test = True"

    elif(test2 == True):
        return "test2 = True"

    else:
        return

Now, If I ran this and typed in the Python Shell:

test()

I would get

'test = True'

But, If I type:

test("This is a string")

I do not get returned "test2 = True" which Is what I want, I simply get returned nothing.

I know why this happens but how would I go about doing it correctly and make it so when I type in the Python Shell:

test("String")

or any other string, I would get returned "test2 = True" ?

Answer 1

A string object is not identical to the str type object. It is an instance of that type, not the type itself.

You could use the type() function to test for the types of objects:

>>> type('this is a string') is str
True

but you generally want to use the isinstance() function instead:

>>> isinstance('this is a string', str)
True