from timeit import timeit
foo = lambda: 'a' in '123456789'
bar = lambda: ord('0') <= ord('a') <= ord('9')
print [timeit(f) for f in (foo, bar)]
ZnJvbSB0aW1laXQgaW1wb3J0IHRpbWVpdAoKZm9vID0gbGFtYmRhOiAnYScgaW4gJzEyMzQ1Njc4OScKYmFyID0gbGFtYmRhOiBvcmQoJzAnKSA8PSBvcmQoJ2EnKSA8PSBvcmQoJzknKQoKCnByaW50IFt0aW1laXQoZikgZm9yIGYgaW4gKGZvbywgYmFyKV0=