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

James Y Knight foom at fuhm.net
Thu Aug 10 20:28:20 CEST 2006

On Aug 10, 2006, at 12:24 PM, Guido van Rossum wrote:

On 8/10/06, James Y Knight <foom at fuhm.net> wrote:

It makes just as much sense as assigning to an array access, and the semantics would be pretty similar. No. Array references (x[i]) and attribute references (x.a) represent "locations". Function calls represent values. This is no different than the distinction between lvalues and rvalues in C.

Yes, function calls cannot be lvalues right now. However, there is no
reason that a function call could not be an lvalue. That is exactly
what the addition of setcall would allow.

On Aug 10, 2006, at 12:31 PM, Phillip J. Eby wrote:

Honestly, it might make more sense to get rid of augmented assignment in Py3K rather than to add this. It seems that the need for something like this springs primarily from the existence of augmented assignment.

It makes just as much (and just as little) sense to have normal
assignment to function calls as it does augmented assignment to
function calls. I don't see any reason to single out augmented
assignment here.

Anyhow, enough time wasted on this. I don't really think python
should add this feature, but it does make sense, and would have
understandable and consistent semantics if it were added.

James

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