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The Python language spec does not define what names and such actually are, only how they behave. However, the behaviour can be explained with pointers. The CPython implementation uses pointers of type PyObject* under the hood. As such, it is possible to translate name semantics to pointer operations. The key is to separate names from actual ...
Names in Python. Python does not have variables. It has names. Yes, this is a pedantic point, and you can certainly use the term variables as much as you like. It is important to know that there is a difference between variables and names. Let’s take the equivalent code from the above C example and write it in Python:
The assignment operator = in Python automatically creates and assigns a pointer to the variable. Example: l = [1,2,3,4] The above statement creates a list object and points a pointer to it called “l”. If you assign the same list object both to two different variables m and l, they will point to the same memory location. #Assign. l = [1,2,3,4]
But Python has no inverse operation: there’s no get_value_via_pointer() that can get you myvar given mypointer. So Python doesn’t have the classic pair of operations to be able to work with pointers explicitly. But on the other hand, every variable in Python is a pointer, because variables in Python are names that refer to objects.
May 2, 2024 · Sometimes Python programmers think of variables as kind of like a bucket that might hold an object. Unfortunately, this mental model of Python breaks down pretty quickly. Variables in Python are not buckets that contain things, but pointers: variables point to objects. Also see the variable definition in Python Terminology and see the much ...
Feb 28, 2022 · The last few definitions likely won't make sense until we define them in more detail later on. Object (a.k.a. value): a "thing". Lists, dictionaries, strings, numbers, tuples, functions, and modules are all objects. "Object" defies definition because everything is an object in Python. Variable (a.k.a. name): a name used to refer to an object.
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Pointers and Objects in Python. Austin Cepalia 12 Lessons 47m intermediate python. If you’ve ever worked with lower-level languages like C or C++, then you may have heard of pointers. Pointers are essentially variables that hold the memory address of another variable. They allow you to create great efficiency in parts of your code but can ...
