On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 2:18 AM, Marko Rauhamaa <ma...@pacujo.net> wrote: > Ned Batchelder <n...@nedbatchelder.com>: > >> Why is "variable" sacrosanct and can only be used to describe C >> semantics, but we're OK reusing class, int, and function? > > The Python language specification calls them variables; the terminology > discussion should end there.
Personally, I found the idea that a python variable is a name + value pairing to be useful when learning the language, especially when I was struggling with the calling semantics (that is, the differences between call-by-value, call-by-reference, and call-by-object). I think it's rather silly for someone to insist that python doesn't have variables. On the other hand, I think it can be useful to point out that python variable aren't like C variables, and that thinking of python variables as having two parts -- names and values -- really can help people who are struggling to learn the language. I know it certainly helped me. -- Jerry -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
