[Python-ideas] Globalize lonely augmented assignment

[Nick Coghlan]

On 12/06/10 07:06, Fake Name wrote:
> Mark Dickinson suggested discussion take place here, rather than at
> bugs.python
>
> http://bugs.python.org/issue8977
>
> To note, his counter example would currently raise an UnboundLocalError

For those not checking the issue discussion, I'll note that Guido's 
opinion is that this is a borderline case. Either behaviour 
(mutate/rebind the global or raise UnboundLocalError) is going to be 
confusing in some cases and intuitive in others.

To quote Mark:
""" I guess there's a mismatch either way around:  currently,
"A += [4]" and "A.append(4)" behave differently for (e.g.,) a list A. 
With the proposed change, "n += 3" and "n = n + 3" behave differently 
for a integer n."""

I agree with both of those points.

However, I believe this is a case where the cognitive cost of changing 
the status quo isn't worthwhile. New Python users can be taught very 
quickly that assigning to a variable from a different scope requires a 
global or nonlocal declaration.

While existing users could be taught easily enough that that was no 
longer necessary for augmented assignment, how much real world code 
would actually benefit? (now, Paul Graham's accumulator hobby horse 
doesn't count as real world code)

Call it a -0. I'm not implacably opposed, I just don't see it as a good 
use of developer (and documentation author!) time.

Cheers,
Nick.

P.S. Any such change would have to wait until after the moratorium anyway.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia
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