[Tutor] beginning to code

[Bill]

Mark Lawrence wrote:
> On 22/09/2017 08:01, Bill wrote:
>> Steve D'Aprano wrote:
>>> On Fri, 22 Sep 2017 02:57 pm, Bill wrote:
>>>
>>>> I find Python to be more more
>>>> like Java, with regard to "passing objects by reference".
>>> Which is not a surprise, since both Python and Java use the same 
>>> value passing
>>> style: pass by object reference, or pass by sharing if you prefer.
>>>
>>> Java people don't call it that. They call it pass by value, and 
>>> categorically
>>> deny that it is pass by reference. (They're right about the second 
>>> point.)
>>
>> I figure that, internally, an address, a pointer, is being passed by 
>> value to implement pass by reference.  Why do you say "they are 
>> right" above? Are you saying it's not pass by reference?
>>
>
> Please see 
> http://jeffknupp.com/blog/2012/11/13/is-python-callbyvalue-or-callbyreference-neither/ 
> and http://effbot.org/zone/call-by-object.htm
>


I would would agree with the description provided for the C++ example 
provided

string some_guy = "fred";
  is replaced by
char* some_guy="fred";

To see that this is correct, note the some_guy may subsequently be 
assigned to a character string much longer then "fred".  An additional 
note: A character string literal, like "cat", never occurs more than 
once in compiled C++ program unit.  This also shows that the provided 
description can't be completely correct. One last thing,

string some_guy = "fred"

is really the same thing as

string some_guy("fred");

and both equivalently call the string constructor.

The data type of "fred" is const char*, not (class) string.