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I find baffling the following behaviour of *re.finditer()*:
 Python 3.2 (r32:88445, Feb 20 2011, 21:29:02) [MSC v.1500 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
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 >>> import re
 >>> m = re.finditer( '123', 'abc' )
 >>> m
 <callable_iterator object at 0x00BF09B0>
 >>> if m : 'I am Napoleon'
 
 'I am Napoleon'
No other way of formulating the condition that I have tried has worked either. Apparently *m* is always true, although all efforts to test its value indicate the contrary:
 >>> m == True
 False
 >>>
This does not happen with any other of the related methods (*findall*, *match*, *search*), which no doubt is the correct and logical behaviour:
 >>> n = re.findall( '123', 'abc' )
 >>> n
 []
 >>> if n : 'I am Napoleon'
 
 >>> 
I have not seen any warning or explanation for this fact in the official or third party documentation that I have consulted. Perhaps it is not a bug, but, as the preceding lines show, it makes impossible to test the result of the operation and direct the subsequent program flow.
If this were an unavoidable feature of *re.finditer*, it should be at least clearly exposed and, if possible, with indications of how to circumvent its undesirable consequences.
Thanks for your attention and efforts.