Hi All-- Dave Brueck wrote: > > Michael wrote: > > sorry, I'm used to working in c++ :-p > > > > if i do > > a=2 > > b=a > > b=0 > > then a is still 2!? > > > > so when do = mean a reference to the same object > > Always. > > > and when does it mean make a copy of the object?? > > Never. >
To which I would add (without attempting to preserve Dave's admirable brevity): a=[3,5,6] b=a "b" is a reference to a; both b and a are names bound to "[3,5,6]". a=[3,5,6] b=a[:] a and b are now bound to different instances of [3,5,6] Metta, Ivan ---------------------------------------------- Ivan Van Laningham God N Locomotive Works http://www.andi-holmes.com/ http://www.foretec.com/python/workshops/1998-11/proceedings.html Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70 Author: Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list