Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rpi!turing.cs.rpi.edu!adamsf
From: adamsf@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: Re: Data-Hiding?  Really??
Summary: Variables aren't objects
Message-ID: <3$SQJ#@rpi.edu>
Date: 18 Jan 90 02:55:50 GMT
References: <4811d5e9.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM>
Reply-To: adamsf@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Frank Adams)
Organization: RPI CS Dept.
Lines: 11

In article <4811d5e9.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> yon@apollo.HP.COM (David Yon) writes:
>	You'll find that by setting the ripeness factor of the 
>anotherApple variable, it changed the state of the object in the
>AppleBasket.  So the ripeness of the Apple in the AppleBasket will
>have been changed to five.  On the surface, this appears to violate
>the rule that only objects can change their own state.

You're confusing variables and objects.  When you get the Apple and assign
it to anotherApple, you aren't creating a new Apple object.  You are making
anotherApple be the *same* Apple object as is in the collection.  Naturally,
whatever you do it will be visible however you get access to it.