Python Function Arguments

Arguments are the parameters that we pass to a function that helps function to do the operation as per the arguments.

To get a better understanding of how to create a function, do follow the previous tutorial:- Python Functions.

What are different ways of passing arguments to function Python?

Python supports four different ways in which we can pass arguments to a function.

1. Required arguments
2. Keyword arguments
3. Default arguments
4. Variable-length arguments

What are the required arguments to a function in Python?

Required arguments are passed in proper positional order to a function. The number of arguments in the function call should exactly match the function being called. Python interpreter will show an error if the number of arguments doesn’t match during the function call.

Let us use the following example to get an idea of the required arguments:-

def greet(name, age):
    message = "Hi " + name + "," + " Your age is "+age;
    return message;  

name = input("Enter the name?: ")
age= input("Enter the age?: ")
print(greet(name, age))

We get the output as below:-

What are the keyword arguments to a function in Python?

While using a function, it will be better if we could just pass the values to the function using a keyword instead of just passing each positional value. This will make the program much more readable and reduce the chances of missing the correct values.

The keyword argument in a function provides us this flexibility to operate using a keyword name. Please note that having a positional argument after keyword arguments will result in errors. So, we can use positional argument first and then keyword if required.

Let us use an example to explain the keyword arguments in action:-

def greet(name, age):
    message = "Hi " + name + "," + " Your age is "+age;
    return message;  

print(greet(age="28", name="John Doe"))

The output of the above program is as below:-

def greet(name, age = "28"):
    message = "Hi " + name + "," + " Your age is "+age;
    return message;  

print(greet("John Doe"))

def greet(*names):
    for name in names:
        print("Hello, ", name)

greet("John", "Tom", "Luke")