In Python, how do I determine if an object is iterable?

Question

Is there a method like isiterable? The only solution I have found so far is to call

hasattr(myObj, \'__iter__\')

But I am not

Answer 1

Duck typing

try:
    iterator = iter(theElement)
except TypeError:
    # not iterable
else:
    # iterable

# for obj in iterator:
#     pass

Type checking

Use the Abstract Base Classes. They need at least Python 2.6 and work only for new-style classes.

from collections.abc import Iterable   # import directly from collections for Python < 3.3

if isinstance(theElement, Iterable):
    # iterable
else:
    # not iterable

However, iter() is a bit more reliable as described by the documentation:

Checking isinstance(obj, Iterable) detects classes that are registered as Iterable or that have an __iter__() method, but it does not detect classes that iterate with the __getitem__() method. The only reliable way to determine whether an object is iterable is to call iter(obj).