[artikae]

> those only apply to arrays of primitives

I guess you've not written much python, or just not used any custom types in lists if you have.

    class Thing:
        def __init__(self, a, b):
            self.a = a; self.b = b
        def __eq__(me, them):
            return me.a == them.a and me.b == them.b
    >>>[1, 2, Thing(6, "Hi")] == [1, 2, Thing(6, "Hi")]
    True
    >>>[1, 2, Thing(6, "Hi")] == [1, 2, Thing(6, "Hello")]
    False

In this case, the builtins are syntax, namely the `==` operator. There's a uniform syntax for comparing two objects for equality.

[cluckindan]

Sure, the language has a mechanism for overriding the equality operator for classes, just like Java has .equals(), but the code is overriding the builtin algorithm. The case of comparing mixed type arrays is not a usual case and seems contrived. In JS, you could do the same by extending Array and using that, or implementing a custom .equals() for your objects. I suppose Python is a bit more functional in that respect.