On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 3:23 PM, Rustom Mody <rustompm...@gmail.com> wrote: > A C programmer asked to swap variables x and y, typically writes something > like > > t = x; x = y; y = t; > > Fine, since C cant do better. > But then he assumes that that much sequentialization is inherent to the > problem... > Until he sees the python: > > x,y = y,x > > The same applies generally to all programmers brought up on imperative style.
Uhh, that's still imperative. There is a chronological boundary here: prior to that statement's execution, x and y have certain values, and after it, they have the same values but the other way around. When you're manipulating algebraic statements, moving down the page doesn't correspond to any sort of time change, which is why "x = x + 1" has no solutions. Please explain to me how "x,y = y,x" is materially different from "x = x + 1" in that the latter is, in your words, an abomination, but you say the former doesn't have the same problem. ChrisA -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
