Apology Re: Is 'everything' a refrence or isn't it?

[Alex Martelli]

Ben Sizer <kylotan at gmail.com> wrote:
   ...
> assignment semantics that differ from languages such as C++ and Java,
> not the calling mechanism. In C++, assignment means copying a value. In
> Python, assignment means reassigning a reference.

And in Java, it means just the same as in Python (with some unfortunate
exceptions, in Java, for elementary types such as int -- but for all
normal types, the meaning of assignment and parameter passing is just
the same in Java as in Python).

Considering that Java may have become the language most used for first
courses in programming, it's unfortunate to propagate disinformation
about its assignment semantics differing from Python's -- it will
confuse people who know Java, and there are many of those.


Alex