What are some examples of using args and kwargs in Python?

What are some examples of using args and kwargs in Python?

In Python, *args and **kwargs allow you to pass a variable number of arguments to a function. For example, you can define a function like this:

def my_function(*args, **kwargs):
    print(args)
    print(kwargs)

You can call it with any number of positional and keyword arguments.

Can you give me a specific example of how to use them?

Sure! Here's an example:

def greet(*names, greeting='Hello'):
    for name in names:
        print(f'{greeting}, {name}!')

You can call it like this:

greet('Alice', 'Bob', greeting='Hi')

This will output:

Hi, Alice!
Hi, Bob!

What happens if I don't use *args or **kwargs?

If you don't use *args or **kwargs, you can only pass a fixed number of arguments to your function. This limits flexibility, as you won't be able to handle additional arguments without modifying the function definition.

Are there any best practices for using them?

Yes! It's best to use *args for positional arguments and **kwargs for keyword arguments. Also, document your functions clearly to indicate what types of arguments they expect.