Re: Python internals

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  • MRAB

    Re: Python internals

    On Jul 15, 2:50 pm, Peter Anderson <peter.ander... @internode.on.n et>
    wrote:
    Hi!  I am slowly teaching myself Python.  I was reading David Beazley's
    excellent book "Python - Essential Reference"; in particular about
    variables.  Let me quote:
    >
    "Python is a dynamically typed language in which names can represent
    values of different types during the execution of a program. In fact the
    names used in the program are really just labels for various quantities
    and objects. The assignment operator simply creates an association
    between a name and a value. This is different from C, for example, in
    which a name (variable) represents a fixed size and location in memory..."
    >
    As an old mainframe programmer, I understand the way C does things with
    variable but this text got me wondering how Python handles this
    "associatio n" between variable name and value at the lower level.  Is it
    like a fifo list?
    >
    If there is any Python guru that can help I would be most interested in
    your thoughts.
    >
    They're stored in a dictionary (hash table), called a "dict" in
    Python, the name being the key and the value being a reference to the
    actual value. The CPython implementation is written in C (hence the
    name) and implements references with pointers.
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