From: Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed at ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Subject: Re: Variables vs. names
Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2002 23:25:34 -0700
Message-ID: <uc9rna.3q4.ln at ix.netcom.com>

Martin v. Löwis fed this fish to the penguins on Sunday 06 October 2002 
10:44 pm:

> aahz at pythoncraft.com (Aahz) writes:
> 
>> Python names don't have values.  Names are always references to
>> objects. I don't know Java well enough to have any clue how it
>> handles references, but I know Java doesn't have pointers.
> 
                <snip> 

> I believe newcomers to Java have the same problem that they have in
> Python: "If parameters are passed by reference, how come I cannot
> modify a variable in the caller?" is a question that I've heard both
> for Java and for Python.
>
        Sounds like we need to drop the use of "reference"...

        If explained as: 

Python names have associations to values. Passing parameters creates 
duplicates of the association using the dummy argument names. 
Assignment to a name changes the association of that name to the new 
value; it does not change any other associations to the value.

the confusion should be reduced.