> BTW I see that your book has what seems to be a thorough discussion of > namespaces and variable scopes in chapter 12.
ah, that section (12.3) you're referring to is mostly about namespaces as it's in the Modules chapter. the real bit about variable scope that you're seeking is actually in the immediately preceding chapter on Functions in section 11.8, which does address some of the topics covered in this thread. the reason why scope is mentioned in that ch12 section is because i introduce namespaces there, and it's easy for those new to the language to get confused about the relationship b/w namespaces and variable scope. for example, and this is not recommended, of course, create a global variable named 'str', then create another one in a function, like this: str = 'foo' def func(): str = 'bar' so now the name 'str' lives in *3* different namespaces, local (to func), global, and built-in. *but* from any point in your code, you only have (legal) access to one of them -- that's scope. (side note: i think 'str' and 'list' are the 2 most popular variables that shadow/override built-in names.) one thing that i did learn from all you tutors is the behavior for augmented asst differing from that of the full asst syntax... i'll jot down to make sure it's covered in the next edition. :-) cheers, -- wesley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001 http://corepython.com wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com python training and technical consulting cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca http://cyberwebconsulting.com _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor