Python checking if exactly one object is not None [closed]

Question

I have two python objects a and b.

What is the best/most-efficient/most-pythonic way to check if exactly one of these objects is None?

Answer 1

Use Python's ^ (XOR) operator.

(a is None) ^ (b is None)

Answer 2

What you effectively want is the XOR or Exclusive OR function on whether those two objects are None. The following should work for you:

(a is None) ^ (b is None)

A more exhaustive answer on how to get XOR on objects in Python can be found here:

How do you get the logical xor of two variables in Python?