Basic Python Parameter / Argument Question

Coding
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#1

Is it true that in a python function with keyword parameters only in the definition, that it is legal to call the function with no arguments ? And are there other exceptions to rule that there must be arguments in a function call when there are parameters in the definition ?

#2

If you give the parameter a default value, then it becomes optional.

For example:

def aFunction(foo, bar=None):
    if bar is not None:
        print(foo, bar)
    else:
        print(foo)

That function can be called this way: aFunction(fooVar)
Or this way: aFunction(fooVar, barVar)

#3

There are other situations where you may see “arguments” in a function definition, but the function may be called without arguments. E.g. *args in the definition would capture any positional arguments as a tuple, which may be empty if no arguments were passed:

>>> def foo(*args):
...     print(args)
...
>>> foo(1, 2, 1.618)
(1, 2, 1.618)
>>> foo()
()

Similarly **kwargs will capture named/keyword arguments as a dictionary, and no named arguments would result in an empty dictionary:

>>> def bar(**kwargs):
...     print(kwargs)
...
>>> bar(1)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: bar() takes 0 positional arguments but 1 was given
>>> bar(a=1, b=2)
{'a': 1, 'b': 2}
>>> bar()
{}

Sometimes you may see a function definition like def foo(*args, **kwargs), which takes any kind and number of arguments, for whatever reasons it needs to be that flexible.

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