[Python-Dev] SyntaxError: can't assign to function call (original) (raw)

Georg Brandl g.brandl at gmx.net
Wed Aug 9 22:33:21 CEST 2006

Terry Reedy wrote:

"Neal Becker" <ndbecker2 at gmail.com> wrote in message news:ebd2sp$nnv$1 at sea.gmane.org...

class X (object): pass

X() += 2

SyntaxError: can't assign to function call Suppose I actually had defined iadd for class X. Python says this syntax is invalid. I wish is wasn't. If you translate to x() = x() +2, with x called just once, it does not make sense. You can bind to names and slots in compound objects, but not to objects.

This is similar to

x = ([1], 2) x[0] += [2]

which doesn't currently work either, though it could.

Georg

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