Lists: why is this behavior different for index and slice assignments?

[Steve Holden]

John Salerno wrote:
> Hey all. I've decided I let my Python skills (minor though they were) 
> slip away so I started reading the new edition of Learning Python to 
> brush up. I just read about lists again and I'm wondering if someone 
> could explain what's going on under the hood that makes index and slice 
> assignments behave differently when assigning an empty list.
> 
> For example:
> 
>  >>> L = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
>  >>> L[0:2] = []
>  >>> L
> [3, 4, 5]
> 
>  >>> L = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
>  >>> L[0] = []
>  >>> L
> [[], 2, 3, 4, 5]
> 
> So the question is, when you assign an empty list to an index, why does 
> it insert an empty list, but when you assign an empty list to a slice, 
> it simply deletes the slice?
> 
Assignment to a list *element* rebinds the single element to the 
assigned value. Assignment to a list *slice* has to be of a list, and it 
replaces the elements in the slice by assigned elements.

regards
  Steve
-- 
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