Why is this assignment necessary?

[smurfix]

This code works (i.e. id ends up getting appended to the list):

static py::object base = py::none();

void take(int id) {
    if (base.is_none())
        base = py::list();
    auto bl = py::list(base);
    bl.append(id);
    base = bl;
}

However, it does not work when I remove the last line. Somebody please elucidate why, because I frankly don't understand it.

Complete(d) example:

py::object give() {
    py::object res = base;
    base = py::none();
    return res;
}

NB_MODULE(ex3, m) {
    m.def("take",&take);
    m.def("give",&give);
}

import example as e
e.take(1)
e.take(42)
assert e.give() == [1,42]

[smurfix]

… apparently I'm supposed to use py::cast<py::list>(base) instead. Sigh.

[wjakob]

Not sure I appreciate the tone. nb::list() does the same thing as list() in Python, meaning it creates a copy. You can also borrow via nb::borrow<nb::list>() if you know an object already has the right type.

[smurfix]

Sorry, that was my annoyance about myself speaking.