Overwriting variables

Question

So you can change the value of a variable without using del?

Answer 1

del doesn't necessarily free the memory.

First of all it erases a NAME.

a = [] # We create a list
b = a # We give it a second name

Now we can use the same list by calling it a or b in our code.

del a now deletes the name a, but not the list. It's still there, in the same place, and you can still use it with the name b.

del b

Now the second name is also erased.

And now, since nothing refers to b anymore, the garbage collector of Python deletes the actual object for you.

Answer 2

Whoops - the other answer is gone?

Sam Hatchard, you can just overwrite a name, even with different types, there won't be a problem.

a = 1
a = 5
a = [6, 7, 8]

The actual creation and deletion is done for you automatically.

So assigning a value to a name is more like pasting a name sticker onto an object, then later pasting it somewhere else.

Answer 3

more like overriding variable