No swap function in Python?

[Ben Wolfson]

In article <slrn9hd2cs.iiu.scarblac at pino.selwerd.nl>, "Remco Gerlich"
<scarblac at pino.selwerd.nl> wrote:
>
> A swap function is impossible in Python. A function cannot rebind names
> in the caller's namespace. This is why del is a statement and not a
> function, for instance.

>>> a = 10
>>> b = 5
>>> def swap(**d):
        assert len(d) == 2, 'Only swaps two variables!'
        import sys
        loc = sys._getframe(1).f_locals
        k1, k2 = d.keys()
        loc[k1] = d[k2]
        loc[k2] = d[k1]

>>> swap(a=a, b=b)
>>> print a, b
5 10
>>>

 
-- 
Barnabas T. Rumjuggler
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