How do I define an argument pattern for a Head of NOT a given value?

Question

I want to define a function f with an argument that matches only when an argument Head is NOT of a given value.

I know I can define a pattern that matches the Head for an argument:

f[a_Integer] := 2 a

Now, how do I define a version that matches only when argument a is NOT an Integer?

f[a_NotAnInteger] := <something else>

Answer 1

You need Except:

f[a : Except[_Integer]] := 2 a

In addition to being concise, this has an advantage that you can use it in functions which hold their arguments, and don't need to worry about evaluation leaks, since this test is done entirely by the pattern-matcher. For this reason, this is also more efficient than testing head explicitly.

Answer 2

Leonid's answer is the best I think, but Nasser's method in a comment is also valid. It is based on the precedence of rules. If you define a behavior for the Head you don't want you can use a fall-through definition for everything else, e.g.:

f[a_Integer] := 2 a
f[a_] := {1, 2, 3}^a

f /@ {4, 3.14, 3/5}

{8, {1, 8.81524, 31.4891}, {1, 2^(3/5), 3^(3/5)}}