Variable Scope
00:00 The existence of multiple distinct namespaces means multiple instances of a name can exist simultaneously while a Python program runs. As long as each instance is in a different namespace, they are all maintained separately and won’t interfere with one another.
00:20
But that raises a question. Suppose you refer to the name x
in your code and x
exists in several namespaces. How does the Python interpreter know what you mean?
00:33 The answer lies in the concept of scope. The scope of a name is the region in a program in which that name has meaning. The interpreter determines this at runtime based on where the name definition occurs and where in the code the name is referenced. In the next lesson, you will get a breakdown of how the Python interpreter looks through the layers of scope.
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