Identity Operators in Python

What Are Identity Operators?

Identity operators compare the memory location of two objects.

Operator	Description	Example
`is`	True if both variables point to the same object	`x is y`
`is not`	True if they point to different objects	`x is not y`

Examples

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = a        # Same object
c = [1, 2, 3] # Same content, different object

print(a is b)     # True
print(a is c)     # False
print(a == c)     # True (compares value)
print(a is not c) # True

Use Case with Immutable Types

Python reuses small immutable objects (like integers and short strings), so is may return True for small values.

x = 100
y = 100
print(x is y)  # True (small int caching)

x = 1000
y = 1000
print(x is y)  # Might be False (large int)

Use in Conditions

value = None

if value is None:
    print("No value provided")

if value is not None:
    print("Processing value...")

Best Practices

Use is and is not only for identity comparisons (e.g., is None).
Use == and != for value comparisons.
Avoid using is with numbers or strings for equality — use == instead.