Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder4.news.weretis.net!newsfeed.datemas.de!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!xlned.com!feeder7.xlned.com!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed3.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!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 0.004 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.99; '*S*': 0.00; 'tutorial': 0.03; 'talks': 0.03; 'assignment': 0.07; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'suggest': 0.14; 'attributes,': 0.16; 'dict': 0.16; 'elements,': 0.16; 'finney': 0.16; 'names?': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'subject:???': 0.16; 'subject:avoiding': 0.16; 'subject:variable': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.18; 'value.': 0.19; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; "aren't": 0.24; 'question': 0.24; 'chapter': 0.26; 'header:X -Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'them?': 0.31; 'writes:': 0.31; 'agreed': 0.32; 'etc.)': 0.35; 'but': 0.35; 'crazy': 0.36; 'received:com.au': 0.36; 'should': 0.36; 'being': 0.38; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'enough': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'name': 0.63; 'kind': 0.63; 'chance': 0.65; 'skip:\xe2 10': 0.65; '8bit%:21': 0.69; '8bit%:43': 0.74; 'special': 0.74; 'clearer': 0.84; 'received:125': 0.84; '\xe2\x80\x9cwe': 0.84 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Ben Finney Subject: Re: References, and avoiding use of ???variable??? Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 15:22:45 +1100 References: <27ac2248-0ca3-4ba6-9d25-eaad324bc5e9@googlegroups.com> <5f4f5a5f-327a-4616-8235-17ee9e74c488@googlegroups.com> <85ha7knedo.fsf_-_@benfinney.id.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: vmx15867.hosting24.com.au X-Public-Key-ID: 0xBD41714B X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 9CFE 12B0 791A 4267 887F 520C B7AC 2E51 BD41 714B X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-gpg.asc X-Post-From: Ben Finney User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:UlyjQqEs5jaVkqukn52IDAkTjJo= X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 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: 21 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1393647779 news.xs4all.nl 2860 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:37168 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:67288 Gregory Ewing writes: > Ben Finney wrote: > > That whole chapter of the tutorial talks about “variable” and “variable > > assignment”, when IMO it should avoid those terms and use the clearer > > terminology of “reference”, “name”, and “binding a name to a value”. > > What about all the other things that can be assigned > to but aren't names? (List and dict elements, attributes, > etc.) What do you suggest calling them? Assignment binds a reference to a value. A name is a special kind of reference. -- \ “We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question that | `\ divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of | _o__) being correct.” —Niels Bohr (to Wolfgang Pauli), 1958 | Ben Finney