How to check if a string is empty in python?

[mensanator at aol.com]

On May 4, 9:19�pm, a... at mac.com (Alex Martelli) wrote:
> Larry Bates <larry.ba... 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".

But doesn'y "partially depreciated" also mean "less than before"?
I thought "fully depreciated" meant the value AS AN ASSET was now 0,
not the actual value, such as when my company replaces my perfectly
functioning computer because it is "fully depreciated" (the company
can
no longer extract any tax benefits from it).

>
> 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