Variables vs attributes [was Re: Inheriting dictionary attributes and manipulate them in subclasses]

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:48:55 +0200, Diez B. Roggisch wrote:

> No, because you are creating *classvariables* when declaring things like
> this:
...
> OTOH, when assigning to an instance, this will create an
> *instance*-variable. Which is what


If an integer variable is an integer, and a string variable is a string, 
and float variable is a float, and a list variable is a list (there's a 
pattern here), shouldn't a class variable be a class and an instance 
variable be an instance?

I had never noticed the usage of "variable" to mean attribute until a few 
months ago. What's going on? Why did people decide that confusing 
variables and attributes of variables was a good thing? What's next, 
describing dictionary keys as "dictionary variables"?

Sorry to pick on Diez, he's not the only one, just the latest example.


-- 
Steven