I call my father "Dad" but everyone else calls him "Norman". Same person, different name.

If Dad puts on the hat that he's got from the Christmas cracker before he eats his Christmas pudding, then everyone else sees that Norman has put on his hat before eating his Christmas pudding. Two names for one and the same person.


The same principle applies to the copying of objects in Python (and Java and PHP 5 and other object oriented languages); an assignment statement is just the addition of an extra name to the same object.

Let's see an example - in Python:


When I run that:


By changing "pudding" I've also changed "pie".


In contrast, if I copy a list in Perl (and in PHP 4, Tcl and other languages which are not 100% object oriented), I duplicate the data. Example in Perl:


Which runs:



See also Python programming course

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Python - More on Collections and Sequences
  [1873] List Comprehensions in Python - (2008-11-06)
  [1869] Anonymous functions (lambdas) and map in Python - (2008-11-04)
  [1310] Callbacks - a more complex code sandwich - (2007-08-19)
  [1304] Last elements in a Perl or Python list - (2007-08-16)
  [899] Python - extend v append on a list - (2006-10-20)
  [633] Copying a reference, or cloning - (2006-03-05)
  [386] What is a callback? - (2005-07-22)
  [61] Python is a fabulous language - (2004-09-24)

Object Orientation and General technical topics - Programming Principles
  [2586] And and Or illustrated by locks - (2010-01-17)
  [2550] Do not copy and paste code - there are much better ways - (2009-12-26)
  [2415] Variable names like i and j - why? - (2009-09-22)
  [2327] Planning! - (2009-08-08)
  [2310] Learning to write high quality code in Lua - (2009-07-30)
  [2228] Where do I start when writing a program? - (2009-06-11)
  [2022] Pre and post increment - the ++ operator - (2009-02-03)
  [2001] I have not programmed before, and need to learn - (2009-01-19)

Object Oriented Python
  [2604] Tips for writing a test program (Ruby / Python / Java) - (2010-01-29)
  [2169] When should I use OO techniques? - (2009-05-11)
  [2017] Python - a truly dynamic language - (2009-01-30)
  [1925] Introduction to Object Oriented Programming - (2008-12-06)
  [1348] Screw it or Glue it? Access to Object variables - a warning - (2007-09-12)
  [1306] Python class rattling around - (2007-08-16)
  [900] Python - function v method - (2006-10-20)
  [834] Python makes University Challenge - (2006-08-15)
  [477] Class, static and unbound variables - (2005-10-25)

resource index - Python
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At Well House Consultants, we provide training courses on subjects such as Ruby, Lua, Perl, Python, Linux, C, C++, Tcl/Tk, Tomcat, PHP and MySQL. We're asked (and answer) many questions, and answers to those which are of general interest are published in this area of our site.