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Functions

Python defines functions that are not executed until explicitly called. Functions must be defined before they are invoked. Python reads code sequentially, so functions must be defined before their invocation. Positional arguments are values passed to corresponding parameters in a function. Keyword arguments associate values with parameters based on the parameter name rather than position. None is a special value that does not represent any actual value and cannot be used in expressions but can be assigned to variables or compared with variables.

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Shekar G
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7 views

Functions

Python defines functions that are not executed until explicitly called. Functions must be defined before they are invoked. Python reads code sequentially, so functions must be defined before their invocation. Positional arguments are values passed to corresponding parameters in a function. Keyword arguments associate values with parameters based on the parameter name rather than position. None is a special value that does not represent any actual value and cannot be used in expressions but can be assigned to variables or compared with variables.

Uploaded by

Shekar G
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Python reads the function’s definitions and remembers them, but

won’t launch any of them without your permission. The function is


launched or invoked when an explicit call is made.

You mustn’t invoke a function which is not known at the


moment of invocation.
Remember – Python reads your code from top to bottom. It’s not
going to look ahead in order to find a function you forgot to put in
the right place (“right” means “before invocation”)
You mustn’t have a function and a variable of the same
name.

Don’t forget:

 parameters live inside functions (this is their natural


environment)
 arguments exist outside functions, and are carriers of values
passed to corresponding parameters.
 A technique which assigns the i (first, second, and so on)
th

argument to the i (first, second, and so on) function


th

parameter is called positional parameter passing,while


arguments passed in this way are named positional
arguments.
 You’ve used it already, but Python can offer a lot more. We’re
going to tell you about it now.
 Note: positional parameter passing is intuitively used by
people in many social occasions. For example, it is generally
accepted that when we introduce ourselves we mention our
first name(s) before our last name.

Python offers another convention for passing arguments, where the


meaning of the argument is dictated by its name, not by its position
– it’s called keyword argument passing.
Take a look at the snippet →
The concept is clear – the values passed to the parameters are
preceded by the target parameters’ names, followed by the = sign.
The position doesn’t matter here – each argument’s value knows its
destination on the basis of the name used.
Of course, you mustn’t use a non-existent parameter name.
If you try to pass more than one value to one argument, all you’ll
get is a runtime error.
TypeError: sum() got multiple values for argument 'a'

Return – Python keyword


When used inside a function, it causes the immediate termination of
the function’s execution, and an instant return (hence the name) to
the point of invocation.

Note: if a function is not intended to produce a result, using


the return instruction is not obligatory – it will be executed
implicitly at the end of the function.

Anyway, you can use it to terminate a function’s activities on


demand, before the control reaches the function’s last line.
Let us introduce you to a very curious value (to be honest, a none
value) →

 data of this value doesn’t represent any reasonable value –


actually, it’s not a value at all;

 hence, it mustn’t take part in any expressions.

For example, a snippet like this:

print(None + 2)

will cause a runtime error, described by the following diagnostic


message:

TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'NoneType' and 'int'

Note: None is a keyword.

There only two kinds of circumstances when None can be safely


used:
 when you assign it to a variable (or return it as a function’s
result)

 when you compare it with a variable to diagnose its internal


state.

a variable existing outside a function has a scope inside the


functions’ bodies.

This rule has a very important exception. Let’s try to find it.

A variable existing outside a function has a scope inside the


functions’ bodies, excluding those of them which define a
variable of the same name.

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