>>> a := "wtf_walrus"
File "<stdin>", line 1
a := "wtf_walrus"
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
> This rule is included to simplify the choice for the user between an assignment statement and an assignment expression -- there is no syntactic position where both are valid.
But if there is no syntactic position where both are valid, then why not just add a return value to the existing assignment operator? Surely that wouldn't cause any compatibility issues since prior to its introduction any attempt to use an assignment as part of an expression would raise a syntax error.