Why is a[:]=1 fundamentally different to a[:]='1'?
<p>Please consider the two snippets of code (notice the distinction between string and integer):</p>

<pre><code>a = []
a[:] = '1'
</code></pre>

<p>and</p>

<pre><code>a = []
a[:] = 1
</code></pre>

<p>In the first case <code>a</code> is <code>['1']</code>. In the second, I get the error <code>TypeError: can only assign an iterable</code>. Why would using <code>'1'</code> over <code>1</code> be fundamentally different here?</p>
