Why can a function modify some arguments as perceived by the caller, but not others?

Question

I\'m trying to understand Python\'s approach to variable scope. In this example, why is f() able to alter the value of x, as perceived within

Answer 1

Python is a pure pass-by-value language if you think about it the right way. A python variable stores the location of an object in memory. The Python variable does not store the object itself. When you pass a variable to a function, you are passing a copy of the address of the object being pointed to by the variable.

Contrasst these two functions

def foo(x):
    x[0] = 5

def goo(x):
    x = []

Now, when you type into the shell

>>> cow = [3,4,5]
>>> foo(cow)
>>> cow
[5,4,5]

Compare this to goo.

>>> cow = [3,4,5]
>>> goo(cow)
>>> goo
[3,4,5]

In the first case, we pass a copy the address of cow to foo and foo modified the state of the object residing there. The object gets modified.

In the second case you pass a copy of the address of cow to goo. Then goo proceeds to change that copy. Effect: none.

I call this the pink house principle. If you make a copy of your address and tell a painter to paint the house at that address pink, you will wind up with a pink house. If you give the painter a copy of your address and tell him to change it to a new address, the address of your house does not change.

The explanation eliminates a lot of confusion. Python passes the addresses variables store by value.