Here's a sentence from Learning Python: "Names not assigned a value in the function definition are assumed to be enclosing scope locals (in an enclosing def), globals (in the enclosing module's namespace) or built-in (in the predefined __builtin__ names module Python provides."
I have trouble reading this sentence. First, I don't understand if the word 'enclosing' is a verb or an adjective. The whole flow of the sentence seems convoluted. But my real question is this, which is related to the above: "Name references search at most four scopes: local, then enclosing functions (if any), then global, then built-in." I understand what global and built-in are, and I thought I understood the concept of local too, but when I got to this sentence (and the previous sentence), I became confused about the first two scopes. What's the difference between 'local' and 'enclosing functions'? I thought that the only way to create a local namespace was if there *was* a function definition, so now I'm confused by the apparent difference that the authors are referring to. What's an example of a local scope without having a function definition? Loops and if statements, perhaps? And feel free to dissect that first sentence up above, because I just don't get it. Thanks. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
