Changing global variables in embedding Python

[Alex Martelli]

John Dunn wrote:

> Hello-
> 
> I have embedding Python in a C++ application. All is well, except I
> cannot figure out how to modify globals via Python script. After I

You talk of code inside a function, althought the snippet you show
doesn't look like it is:

> the following code, the first line works properly, but the second will
> fail with the error 'local variable 'test' referenced before
> assignment'. The message object is an argument to the function.
> 
> message.print( test )
> test = "test2"

If a function assigns to name 'test', and does NOT have a statement
        global test
(preferably at the start), then 'test' names a LOCAL variable of
the function, not a global one.  But this would make it quite
astonishing that the first line would work -- THAT line should
give the error message you're reporting for the SECOND one...
indeed the error message you report is IMPOSSIBLE for the second
line you give -- it's not referencing 'test', it's binding it.

So I suspect you mis-observed things, and the error msg is
actually for the first of these two lines.  As a fix, try to
start your function with the statement:
        global test



Alex