Not using unpacking for updating multiple values at once

In general, the Python programming community prefers concise code over verbose code. Using unpacking to update the values of multiple variables simultaneously is more concise than using assignments to update each variable individually.

Anti-pattern

The function below implements the classical Euclid algorithm for greatest common divisor. The updates of the variables a and b are made using variable temp and three lines of code.

def gcd(a, b):
    while b != 0:
        temp = b
        b = a % b
        a = temp
    return a

Best practice

Use unpacking to update multiple values simultaneously

The modified code below is functionally equivalent to the original code above, but this code is more concise.

def gcd(a, b):
    while b != 0:
        a, b = b, a % b
    return a

Gotchas

The unpacking can be sometimes quite misleading. Figure out what is the outcome of the code below.

b = "1984"
a = b, c = "AB"
print(a, b, c)