In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Mike Meyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: ... > Most OO languages do the name/variable thing, but some of the popular > ones aren't consistent about it, giving some types "special" status, > so that sometimes "a = b" causes b to be copied onto a, and sometimes > it causes a to become a pointer to b. I find a consistent approach is > preferable.
Who wouldn't. > Most OO languages also have the mutable/immutable object thing. The > set of which objects are immutable changes from language to > language. It's really only relevant in this case because the solution > to "I want to change an alias" issue involves using a mutable object. Yes, and furthermore it's only vaguely relevant. I mean, it really requires a particular kind of mutability, where one object can store a reference to another. That's easy to find in core object types, and of course it is a kind of mutability, but it isn't the definition of mutable. So we drag out this terminology, that neither clearly nor accurately describes the functionality we have in mind, and then we make some vague or even wrong statement about its relationship to the issue. It has been going on for years, usually I believe from people who understand quite well how it really works. Donn Cave, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list