Why would a function end with "return 0" instead of "return" in python?

Question

Could you please explain the difference between "return 0" and "return"? For example:

do_1():
    for i in xrange(5):
        do_sth()
    return 0

do_2():
    for i in xrange(5):
        do_sth()
    return 

What is the difference between two functions above?

Answer 1

Depends on usage:

>>> def ret_Nothing():
...     return
... 
>>> def ret_None():
...     return None
... 
>>> def ret_0():
...     return 0
... 
>>> ret_Nothing() == None
True
>>> ret_Nothing() is None  # correct way to compare values with None
True
>>> ret_None() is None
True
>>> ret_0() is None
False
>>> ret_0() == 0
True
>>> # and...
>>> repr(ret_Nothing())
'None'

And as mentioned by Tichodroma, 0 is not equal to None. However, in boolean context, they are both False:

>>> if ret_0():
...     print 'this will not be printed'
... else:
...     print '0 is boolean False'
... 
0 is boolean False
>>> if ret_None():
...     print 'this will not be printed'
... else:
...     print 'None is also boolean False'
... 
None is also boolean False

More on Boolean context in Python: Truth Value Testing