Initialize a string variable in Python: “” or None?

Question

Suppose I have a class with a string instance attribute. Should I initialize this attribute with \"\" value or None? Is either

Answer 1

Since both None and "" are false, you can do both. See 6.1. Truth Value Testing.

Edit

To answer the question in your edit: No, you can assign a different type.

>>> a = ""
>>> type(a)

>>> a = 1
>>> type(a)