IsString

[Tom Anderson]

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005, Xavier Morel wrote:

> Tom Anderson wrote:
>
>> In what sense are the names-bound-to-references-to-objects not 
>> variables?
>
> In the sense that a variable has various meta-informations (at least a 
> type)

No. In a statically typed language (or possibly only a manifestly typed 
language), a variable has a type; in an untyped language, it doesn't.

> while a Python name has no information. A Python name would be 
> equivalent to a C void pointer, it can mean *any*thing and has no 
> value/meaning by itself, only the object it references has.

Quite right - so it's also equivalent to a LISP, Smalltalk or Objective C 
(to mention but a few) variable?

tom

-- 
The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead
channel