# Pythone'er abuses walrus **URL:** \ **Category:** Python Help\ **Created:** [February 2, 2021, 11:59am UTC](https://discuss.python.org/t/pythoneer-abuses-walrus/6979 "2021-02-02T11:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2
**Author:** ![steven.daprano](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discuss.python.org/steven.daprano/32/1083_2.png) [@steven.daprano](https://discuss.python.org/u/steven.daprano)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://discuss.python.org/t/pythoneer-abuses-walrus/6979/2 "2021-02-02T13:40:47Z")
It’s not the walrus operator that is being abused, it’s the `if` operator. You have: ``` None if stack[-1].append(innermost:=[]) else innermost ``` That use of the walrus operator is perfectly fine! All you are doing is using the walrus as a way to keep a named reference to an expression you have just used, which is exactly what the operator was invented for! (This example is a little unusual only in that the expression being captured is so simple, a plain old literal `[]`, instead of something complicated or expensive.) There are other ways to get the same effect. Who needs a named reference? ``` # Untested. if this > len(stack): stack[-1].append([]) # nest the new level stack.append(stack[-1][-1]) # and push it ``` Anyway, the walrus is fine. It’s the `if` operator that is freaky: ``` something that never gets used if something that always return False else something ``` So let’s fix it! ``` if this > len(stack): stack[-1].append(newlevel:=[]) stack.append(newlevel) ``` People who don’t like the walrus operator would prefer to put `newlevel = []` in its own statement, and honestly I agree that is probably better. But using the walrus operator to re-use the same list is pretty good. We can even save another line, without using a semicolon: ``` if this > len(stack): stack[-1].append(newlevel:=[]) or stack.append(newlevel) ``` Pretty hackish, but it’s still better than the abuse of the ternary if operator! --- _[View the full topic](https://discuss.python.org/t/pythoneer-abuses-walrus/6979)._