--- title: Python None | daily.dev description: Python functions that don't explicitly return a value will return None, which can cause subtle runtime bugs when type hints suggest otherwise. A real-world... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/python-none-mkx4wlj4w twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Python None | daily.dev og:description: Python functions that don't explicitly return a value will return None, which can cause subtle runtime bugs when type hints suggest otherwise. A real-world... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/python-none-mkx4wlj4w og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/MkX4wLJ4w.png og:image:alt: Python None og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Python None **[Playful Programming](https://daily.dev/sources/playfulprogramming)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Python functions that don't explicitly return a value will return None, which can cause subtle runtime bugs when type hints suggest otherwise. A real-world example shows how calling a function with a falsy argument that has no matching return statement silently assigns None to a variable. In contrast, Go's compiler catches this class of error at compile time with a 'missing return' error, highlighting a key advantage of statically typed languages over dynamically typed scripting languages. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [In Python, you have to specify the type and not rely on inference](https://daily.dev/posts/in-python-you-have-to-specify-the-type-and-not-rely-on-inference-omb2z4wds) · Planet Python · 4 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#python](https://daily.dev/tags/python), [#golang](https://daily.dev/tags/golang) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/python-none-mkx4wlj4w) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Python None","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/python-none-mkx4wlj4w","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/python-none-mkx4wlj4w"},"datePublished":"2026-03-16T21:48:45.019Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T21:53:04.668Z","description":"Python functions that don't explicitly return a value will return None, which can cause subtle runtime bugs when type hints suggest otherwise. A real-world...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/facac5b3f7685bb438244fa78d32d76c?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/facac5b3f7685bb438244fa78d32d76c?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Playful Programming","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Playful Programming","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--WoGOmY81--/f_auto,q_auto/v1773697582/logos/playfulprogramming?_a=BAMAMiiu0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/playfulprogramming"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/python-none-mkx4wlj4w","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"python,golang","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Playful Programming","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/playfulprogramming"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Python None"}]} ```