Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder1.news.weretis.net!feeder.erje.net!1.eu.feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed3a.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.012 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.98; '*S*': 0.00; 'referring': 0.07; 'pointers': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'reference)': 0.09; 'references,': 0.09; 'things,': 0.09; '\xe2\x80\x94': 0.09; 'python': 0.11; 'finney': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; "python's": 0.19; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; '(or': 0.24; 'references': 0.26; 'right.': 0.26; 'gets': 0.27; 'header:X -Complaints-To:1': 0.27; "doesn't": 0.30; 'writes:': 0.31; 'languages': 0.32; 'not.': 0.33; 'subject:time': 0.33; 'except': 0.35; 'there': 0.35; 'accessible': 0.36; 'false': 0.36; 'impression': 0.36; 'two': 0.37; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python- list': 0.38; 'anything': 0.39; 'does': 0.39; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'name': 0.63; 'between': 0.67; 'containing': 0.69; 'bare': 0.84; 'metaphor': 0.84; 'received:125': 0.84; 'vatican': 0.84; 'boxes': 0.91; '\xe2\x80\x9cthe': 0.91 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Ben Finney Subject: Re: Slices time complexity Date: Wed, 20 May 2015 10:42:37 +1000 References: <9ceklad15llnv3npejq9iuh91soci8aeqo@4ax.com> <7ea01590-a559-46e5-abf5-29622e39aae7@googlegroups.com> <555ac697$0$12910$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> <862693ca-42cf-4f5b-ac12-133e43e7606b@googlegroups.com> <878uclf3bt.fsf@elektro.pacujo.net> <555af171$0$12995$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> <874mn9ezaw.fsf@elektro.pacujo.net> <555b2fa9$0$12996$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: jigong.madmonks.org X-Public-Key-ID: 0xAC128405 X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 517C F14B B2F3 98B0 CB35 4855 B8B2 4C06 AC12 8405 X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-pubkey.asc X-Post-From: Ben Finney User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:n9k05d2fPCLI66hIKWCd0YNHqQk= X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20+ Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 23 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1432082566 news.xs4all.nl 2914 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:60916 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:90905 Gregory Ewing writes: > If I draw two boxes on a blackboard with an arrow between them, I > think it's perfectly reasonable to call that arrow a pointer. Right. So the box with an arrow coming out of it is a good metaphor for pointers — *in languages that have pointers*, which Python does not. A box with an arrow coming out of it is a poor metaphor for Python's references, since a Python reference doesn't contain anything accessible to the programmer. Instead, to avoid giving the false impression that Python's references are boxes containing things, write a bare name (or other reference) on the blackboard, referring to the box that *does* contain a value accessible to the programmer. -- \ “The Vatican is not a state.… a state must have people. There | `\ are no Vaticanians.… No-one gets born in the Vatican except by | _o__) an unfortunate accident.” —Geoffrey Robertson, 2010-09-18 | Ben Finney