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Determine the type of a Python variable

Determine the type of a Python variable

David Y.

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The ProblemJump To Solution

How can I determine a Python variable’s type?

The Solution

We can determine a Python variable’s type using the built-in function type(). This will work for built-in types as well as our own classes. Some examples are given below:

Click to Copy
my_integer = 1
print(type(my_integer)) # will print "<class 'int'>"

my_float = 1.1
print(type(my_float)) # will print "<class 'float'>"

my_string = "Hello world!"
print(type(my_string)) # will print "<class 'str'>"

class MyClass:
    pass

my_class_instance = MyClass()
print(type(my_class_instance)) # will print "<class '__main__.MyClass'>"

As per the Python documentation, the function isinstance() should be used when testing whether a variable is of a specific class, as it takes subclasses into account, which type() does not.

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