>> * Would you be required to use := at each assignment or just the >> first? Just> Just the first; "a = 2" still means "a is local to this scope". That seems like a very subtle error waiting to happen... >> All the toy examples we pass around are very simple, but it seems >> that the name would get assigned to more than once, so the programmer >> might need to remember the same discipline all the time. It seems >> that use of x := 2 and x = 4 should be disallowed in the same >> function so that the compiler can flag such mistakes. Just> I don't see it as a mistake. := would mean: "bind to whichever Just> scope the name is defined in", and that includes the current Just> scope. I disagree with Alex when he says := should mean "I'm Just> binding this name in NON-local scope". Yeah, but if you come back to the code in six months and the nested function is 48 lines long and assigns to x using a variety of ":=" and "=" assignments, it seems to me like it will be hard to tell if there's a problem. >> * This seems like a statement which mixes declaration and execution. Just> How is that different from "regular" assignment? It mixes Just> declaration and execution in the same way. Not in the way of saying, "this is global and here's its value". Skip