Do Python's `and` and `or` Operators Always Return Boolean Values?

Understanding Operator Behavior in Python

In Python, the and and or operators play a crucial role in conditional operations and evaluation. A common misconception is that these operators always return boolean values (True or False). However, the truth about these operators is more nuanced.

Contrary to the claim made in the 2007 video, both and and or operators return one of the two values they operate on, rather than a pure boolean. This behavior can be demonstrated through examples:

>>> 0 or 42
42
>>> 0 and 42
0

As we can see, 0 or 42 returns 42 because the first operand (0) is False, and the operation returns the value of the second operand. Similarly, 0 and 42 returns 0 because the first operand (0) is False, and the operation returns the value of the first operand.

In contrast, the not operator always returns a pure boolean value:

>>> not 0
True
>>> not 42
False

This behavior highlights the distinction between these three operators:

• and and or return the value of one of their operands, which can be a non-boolean value.
• not consistently returns a boolean value, either True or False.

Understanding these operator behaviors is essential for writing correct and efficient Python code involving conditional statements and evaluations.

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