Args and kwargs in Python
Args
Args are used to pass a variable number of arguments to a function. You should use *args only as a parameter name in the function definition, not elsewhere. The reason is that *args is not a keyword; it is just a conventional name. You could use *daksh or *whatever as a parameter name, but it is strongly recommended that you stick to *args.
def sum_numbers(*args):
total = 0
for a in args:
total += a
return total
print(sum_numbers(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)) # 15
print(sum_numbers(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)) # 55
Kwargs
Kwargs are used to pass a variable number of keyword arguments to a function. You should use **kwargs only as a parameter name in the function definition, not elsewhere. The reason is that **kwargs is not a keyword; it is just a conventional name. You could use **daksh or **whatever as a parameter name, but it is strongly recommended that you stick to **kwargs.
def order_price(**kwargs):
total = 0
print(kwargs)
for commodity, price in kwargs.items():
total += price
return total
print(order_price(apple=5, orange=3, banana=2))
# output: {'apple': 5, 'orange': 3, 'banana': 2}, 10
print(order_price(apple=5, orange=3, banana=2, grapes=10)) # 20
# output: {'apple': 5, 'orange': 3, 'banana': 2, 'grapes': 10}, 20