[Tutor] Another set question

[Ben Finney]

Phil <phil_lor at bigpond.com> writes:

> I'm trying to implement a conditional branch based on a variable type.

This is often (not always) a mistake, in Python. So the question needs
to be asked: What makes you think that condition is a requirement?

In other words, why is the data such that you *need* to know whether it
is a set versus a string, before using it? Can the data be handled
differently such that the condition you describe isn't a prerequisite?

> For example, if c is a character and s is a set with only one member.

Note that “a character” and “an empty string” and “three characters” are
all values that have the exact same type: the ‘str’ type.

Similarly, “a set with only one member” and “a set with two dozen
members” and “an empty set” are all values that are of the same type:
the ‘set’ type.

So, I suspect you will need to explain better what larger problem you
are trying to solve, and re-consider whether the condition you're trying
to test is actually going to help that purpose.

-- 
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Ben Finney