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integers ( ++ operator ? )

Nick Perkins nperkins7 at home.com
Wed Jun 6 00:04:39 EDT 2001 
"Alan Daniels" <daniels at mindspring.com> wrote in message

> I believe the new "x += 1" syntax is just synactic sugar which serves
> as shorthand for "x = x + 1", although I'd have to delve through the
> interpreter source code to be 100% sure.

..no need to look at the interpreter source:

>>> x=10
>>> id(x)
3161552
>>> x+=1
>>> id(x)
3161960

x does indeed refer to a different object.

In other languages, this effect could be written something like:
x = new Integer( x.intValue() + 1 )

..the object that x used to refer to, is simply garbage-collected.
(unless other names also refer to it).

I don't think I need x++ when x+=1 is only one character more.

Furthermore, if we had x++ people would be tempted to use it inside an
expression, which I think would have to be illegal. ( I defer to the experts
on that point )
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