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= vs. == in Py3k

Paul Prescod paul at prescod.net
Wed Jun 14 18:38:30 EDT 2000 
Tim Rowe wrote:
> 
> The construct
>         a = a + 1
> can confuse newbies too, provoking a response along the lines of "not for
> finite 'a' it doesn't!"
> 
> I reckon that's sufficient ground for a distinction between assignment and
> equality. '=' possibly isn't the best choice for assignment, though I much
> prefer it to "ADD 1 TO a GIVING a".

How about:

a <- a+1

pronounced "a gets a plus 1"

Nevertheless, I would NOT recommend that Python be so syntactically
innovative. a=a+1 only looks funny to mathematians who have never used
any other mainstream language -- not exactly our target audience!

-- 
 Paul Prescod  - ISOGEN Consulting Engineer speaking for himself
"Silence," wrote Melville, "is the only Voice of God." The assertion,
like its subject, cuts both ways, negating and affirming, implying both
absence and presence, offering us a choice; it's a line that the Society
of American Atheists could put on its letterhead and the Society of
Friends could silently endorse while waiting to be moved by the spirit
to speak. - Listening for Silence by Mark Slouka, Apr. 1999, Harper's
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