A Guide to all() and any() in Python

This article will discuss the all() and any() functions in Python and how to use them in your code.

In Python, the built-in functions all() and any() are very useful when it comes to working with Boolean values and iterable objects. They allow you to easily check if all or any values in an iterable object meet a certain condition. In this blog post, we will explore the differences between these two functions and how to use them effectively.

The all() Function in Python

The all() function takes an iterable object (such as a list, tuple, or set) and returns True if all elements in the iterable are true. If any element is false, the function returns False. Here are a couple of examples:

>>> all([True, True, True])
True
>>> all([True, False, True])
False

In the first one, all elements in the list are true, so the function returns True. In the second example, one element is false, so the function returns False.

You can also use all() with other iterable objects, such as sets or tuples:

>>> all((True, True, True))
True
>>> all({True, True, True})
True

One use case for all() is checking if all elements in a list satisfy a certain condition. For example, if you want to check if all numbers in a list are positive, you can use the following code:

>>> nums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
>>> all(num > 0 for num in nums)
True

The expression num > 0 for num in nums is a generator expression that creates a Boolean value for each element in the list. The all() function then checks if all of these Boolean values are True.

The any() Function in Python

The any() function works in a similar way to all(), but it returns True if any element in the iterable is true. If all elements are false, the function returns False. For example:

>>> any([False, False, True])
True
>>> any([False, False, False])
False

Again, you can use any() with other iterable objects:

>>> any((False, False, True))
True
>>> any({False, False, False})
False

One use case for any() is checking if at least one element in a list satisfies a certain condition. For example, if you want to check if a list of words contains at least one word with a certain letter, you can use the following code:

>>> words = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
>>> any("a" in word for word in words)
True

The expression "a" in word for word in words is a generator expression, like in the previous example, that creates a Boolean value for each word in the list. The any() function then checks if any of these Boolean values are True.


This article has discussed the all() and any() functions in Python. These are very useful for working with Boolean values and iterable objects. all() checks if all elements in an iterable are true, while any() checks if any element is true. You can use these functions to easily check if all or any values in a list meet a certain condition. Next time you need to check if all or any elements in an iterable meet a certain condition, give all() and any() a try!

Happy computing!

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