"Variable" is a bad word - beurk ! - In Python there are ref-on-objects ;
it's without interest with declaration (explicit).
@-salutations
--
Michel Claveau
Well, in python, that is left to programmer's discretion.
Once you get used to it, it's less of a hassle and danger zone than you'd
expect.
You can read GvR's (Our Benevolent Dictator For Life) thoughts
on contracts in python here:
http://www.artima.com/intv/pycontract.html
As a fallback, you can always use the isinstance() and type() functions to
check what type of variable you have on hand.
Generally, isinstance is what you want to use because it returns true for
subclasses. If the subclass doesn't do everything you'd expect of it's
superclass, then either your or the subclass writer have broken their
contract.
If you absotively posolutely must know that a variable is a certain class,
not a subclass and nothing but the bona fide variable type you expected,
then use type(). This, however, is seldom the case because using type()
could prevent future programmers from extending your code.
If you want even more assurances, look into pylint and pychecker:
http://www.logilab.org/projects/pylint
http://pychecker.sourceforge.net/
HTH
Sam Walters.
p.s. The python-tutor list is probably a better place to ask questions
like this. You're most likely to get helpful answers to questions about
the basics than you are here.
--
Never forget the halloween documents.
http://www.opensource.org/halloween/
""" Where will Microsoft try to drag you today?
Do you really want to go there?"""
I'm not sure how helpful that is to a newbie, and in any case I've
been using Python for a reasonably long time now and I definitely
refer to those babies as variables.... with no ill effects to date.
-Peter
The main reason for this is that, in Python, using an unassigned
variable gives you a friendly NameError. In BASIC, it implicitly
creates a new variable (with a value of zero) whether you wanted it to
or not.
...
> As a fallback, you can always use the isinstance() and type() functions to
> check what type of variable you have on hand.
Or more accurately, what type of *object* you have on hand.