old_contents: #!/usr/bin/env python2
  #encoding: UTF-8
  
  # Define a function that computes the length of a given list or string. 
  # (It is true that Python has the len() function built in, 
  # but writing it yourself is nevertheless a good exercise.)
  
  def string_length(string):
      
      if string == None:
          return False
      
      if type(string) is not str and type(string) is not list:
          return False
      
      value = 0
      
      for i in string:
          value = value + 1
      
      return value
  
  def main():
      
      get_input = raw_input("Enter a value: ")
      
      print string_length(get_input)
  
  if __name__ == "__main__":
      main()
new_contents: #!/usr/bin/env python2
  #encoding: UTF-8
  
  # Define a function that computes the length of a given list or string. 
  # (It is true that Python has the len() function built in, 
  # but writing it yourself is nevertheless a good exercise.)
  
  def string_length(string):
      
      if string == None:
          return False
      
      if type(string) is not str and type(string) is not list:
          return False
      
      value = 0
      new_string = []
      
      if '[' in string and ']' in string:
          for i in string:
              if i != '[' and i != ']' and i != ',':
                  new_string.append(i)
          string = new_string
             
      for i in string:
          value = value + 1
      
      return value
  
  def main():
      
      get_input = raw_input("Enter a value: ")
      
      print string_length(get_input)
  
  if __name__ == "__main__":
      main()
subject: Add support for list input