def __check_args_type(args):
    """Check if it is a tuple-like object."""
    if args is None or args == ():
        return None
    elif isinstance(args, int) or isinstance(args, str) or isinstance(args,
        list):
        return args,
    elif not isinstance(args, tuple):
        raise TypeError(
            'Second item of the tuple (func, args, cols) must be tuple-like object not a {} object'
            .format(type(args)))
    else:
        return args
