Odd list behavior

[Rhodri James]

On Wed, 13 May 2009 23:08:26 +0100, norseman <norseman at hughes.net> wrote:

> Evan Kroske wrote:
>> I'm working on a simple file processing utility, and I encountered a  
>> weird error. If I try to get the first element of a list I'm splitting  
>> from a string, I get an error:
>>  key = string.split()[0]
>> Error!
>>  However, I can slice the list like normal, but that gives me a  
>> one-element-long list:
>>  key = string.split()[:1]
>> Success!
>>  Finally, the operation works perfectly if I initialize the list  
>> beforehand:
>>  list = string.split()
>> key = list[0]
>> Success!
>>  Why does this happen?

>
> ==========================
> Take a look at the  split() command.
>
> I think you will find you need one var on the left side for each piece  
> on the right.

Given that he's immediately indexing the split results, that's irrelevant.
There's no point in even guessing with out the traceback.

-- 
Rhodri James *-* Wildebeeste Herder to the Masses