Python variable swapping

Question

Consider this code snippets:

a = 5
b = 4
a, b = b, a

In this code, why isn't b equal to the new, modified value of a (i.e., b itself), and instead holds the old value of a? What exactly happens when doing this? Does Python create a copy of the variables in the right-hand side, and use the new copy holding the old values to assign the variables in the left-hand side?

Answer 1

On the right side in the 3rd line a tuple is created which has its own memory address.

Answer 2

Runtime Terror and Lisa Thank you very much. Is this also applicable to objects?