[Python-Dev] Parrot -- should life imitate satire?
Jeremy Hylton
jeremy@zope.com
Wed, 1 Aug 2001 11:16:41 -0400 (EDT)
>>>>> "GvR" == Guido van Rossum <guido@zope.com> writes:
GvR> But in Python, this is not an operation on a at all! It's an
GvR> operation on the namespace containing a, and a cannot override
GvR> it. I'm sure your VM design can accommodate this, but it
GvR> points out the fundamental difference between the languages in
GvR> their ideas of what a "variable" is. Python has at least two
GvR> types of namespaces in this context: some namespaces (like
GvR> module globals) are dictionaries, others (like function locals)
GvR> have mapped the variable names to an array of object
GvR> references.
In the future, I expect module namespaces will be implemented more
like function namespaces. That's the "low-hanging fruit" optimization
idea we've kicked around for a while. I hope to work on it for 2.3.
This discussion of variables also raises a question for the Perl guys:
Is there a Perl language reference ala the Python reference manual?
Jeremy