Python check for NoneType not working

Question

I'm trying to check whether an object has a None type before checking it's length. For this, I've done an if statement with an or operator:

if (cts is None) | (len(cts) == 0):
return

As far as I can tell, the object cts will be checked if it's None, and if it is, the length check won't run. However, the following error happens if cts is None:

TypeError: object of type 'NoneType' has no len()

Does python check both expressions in an if statement, even if the first is true?

Answer 1

In Python, | is a bitwise or. You want to use a logical or here:

if (cts is None) or (len(cts) == 0):
    return

Answer 2

You can also use -

if not cts: return