How to check if a string is empty in python?

[Alex Martelli]

Larry Bates <larry.bates at websafe.com> wrote:
   ...
> Isn't deprecated like depreciated but not quite to zero yet?

No.  "To deprecate" comes from a Latin verb meaning "to ward off a
disaster by prayer"; when you're saying you deprecate something, you're
saying you're praying for that something to disappear, go away; in a
secular context, you're earnestly imploring people to NOT do it.

"To depreciate" comes from a Latin verb meaning "to reduce the price";
when you're saying you depreciate something, you're saying you put on
that something a lower price (and, by extension, a lower value) than it
has (or, more commonly, used to have).  You're not necessarily saying
it's worth nothing at all (accountants sometimes deem an asset "fully
depreciated" to mean something close to that, but the adverb "fully" is
crucial to this meaning), just that it's worth "less than before".

The two terms got somewhat entwined, no doubt because their spelling is
so similar (even though etimology and pronunciation are poles apart),
but the "correct" meanings and usage are still well distinct.


Alex