On Feb 23, 12:43 pm, Tim Chase <python.l...@tim.thechases.com> wrote: > I stumbled across this oddity and was hoping folks on the list > might be able to provide a little understanding: > > # swap scalars > >>> x,y = 1,2 > >>> x,y = y,x > >>> x,y > (2, 1) > > # swap lists > >>> a,b = [1,2,3],[4,5,6] > >>> a,b = b,a > >>> a,b > ([4, 5, 6], [1, 2, 3]) > > # swap list contents...not so much... > >>> m,n = [1,2,3],[4,5,6] > >>> m[:],n[:] = n,m > >>> m,n > ([4, 5, 6], [4, 5, 6]) snip
This may help: >>> a= [1,2,3] >>> id(a) 12170584 >>> id(a[:]) 12235520 However, I'm not thinking in English at the moment. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list