Passing Multiple Arguments to Function in Python

Hello programmers, in this tutorial we will see how to pass multiple arguments to a function in Python.

Routine and Function

Before we start, we should understand what a routine and a function are.
Routine: A group of instructions/statements given by the user which performs specific computations.
A function is a part of a program routine. Functions can be designed for various purposes.

Parameters and Arguments

Parameters: Comma-separated identifiers which follow the function name.
Arguments: The number of items in the parameter list.

Template of a Function

The introductory template of a function with arguments in Python looks like this:

def functionName(*args, **kwargs):
  pass #function body

Special Symbols

In Python, we can pass multiple arguments using some special symbols. The special symbols are:

*args – used to pass a non-keyworded variable number of arguments to a function
**kwargs – used to pass a keyworded variable number of arguments dictionary to a function

Illustration of a function using *args in Python

def printMultipleValues(*args):
    count = 0
    for i in args:
        print(f"Argument value {count+1} is: {i}")
        count += 1
if __name__ == "__main__":
    printMultipleValues("This", "is", "a", "program", "using", "multiple", "non-keyworded", "arguments", "in", "Python")

Output

Argument value 1 is: This
Argument value 2 is: is
Argument value 3 is: a
Argument value 4 is: program
Argument value 5 is: using
Argument value 6 is: multiple
Argument value 7 is: non-keyworded
Argument value 8 is: arguments
Argument value 9 is: in
Argument value 10 is: Python

Explanation
The function “printMultipleValues” has an argument as *args. The * indicates that it can take multiple arguments and args is the argument name. The function is invoked. As a result, it passes the values to the function. All the values inside the function are published using the for loop.

Illustration of a function using **kwargs

def printMultipleValues(**kwargs):
    for key, value in kwargs.items():
        print(f"{key} is {value}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    printMultipleValues(FirstPart = "Printing", SecondPart = "Using", ThirdPart = "**kwargs")

Output

FirstPart is Printing
SecondPart is Using
ThirdPart is **kwargs

Explanation
The function printMultipleValues takes a dictionary type as a parameter in the function. The dictionary contains key-value pair and through the for loop inside the function, each of the items in the dictionary is published with their individual key and value pair.

**Benefits of using *args and kwargs

We use *args and **kwargs to accept a changeable number of arguments that can be passed into the function that the user has created.

Also read: Use a mutable default value as an argument in Python