The “does Python have variables?” debate

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Fri, 09 May 2014 00:51:01 +1000, Chris Angelico wrote:

>>> which is patently false, as
>>> a number of other languages do the same thing (often calling them
>>> variables). So what does "Python doesn't have variables" mean? Really
>>> it's "Python doesn't have variables like C's or Pascal's".
>>
>> Which is what both Ben and I *explicitly* say, when we use this meme.
> 
> You might, but he didn't. Compare what he wrote recently:
[...]


If you want to argue that Ben is factually mistaken about Java and 
Javascript, go right ahead. But he earlier wrote:

    That's why I always try to say “Python doesn't have variables 
    the way you might know from many other languages”

and

    So Python doesn't have variables in the way programmers coming
    from many other languages expect. Instead, it has references 
    bound to values.


Personally, I think that trying to be general and talk about "many other 
languages" is a failing strategy. Better to be concrete: C, Pascal, 
Algol, Fortran, VB (I think) are good examples of the "value in a box at 
a fixed location" model. Of those, Algol, Pascal and Fortran are either 
obsolete or legacy, and C is by far the most well-known by people here. 
(For some reason, few people seem to migrate from VB to Python.) Hence, 
"C-like".



-- 
Steven D'Aprano
http://import-that.dreamwidth.org/