FAQ: Function Arguments: *args and **kwargs - Function Arguments: A Recap

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This community-built FAQ covers the "Function Arguments: A Recap " exercise from the lesson “Function Arguments: *args and **kwargs”.

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This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:
Learn Intermediate Python3

FAQs on the exercise _Function Arguments: A Recap _

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2

Hello,
Can anyone please explain why the ‘return’ statement was not used here in the function body?
Thanks in advance!

3

Could you provide a link to the lesson? Unfortunately it’s missing from the wiki.

In general you might find python functions without return statements when they’re being used entirely for side effects.

Bear in mind that every Python function/method always returns something even if it’s the None object (so things like print which has I/O as a side effect returns None as would list.append which modifies the underlying list object as a side effect and returns None).

4

Thanks for your reply. I have tried with return statement and it works fine as well.
Here is the link.

https://www.codecademy.com/courses/learn-intermediate-python-3/lessons/function-arguments-args-kwargs/exercises/function-arguments-a-recap

5

While working on a Python exercise, I encountered a peculiar issue with function argument handling and testing. The task was to create a function assign_table that takes three arguments (table_number, name, and vip_status), and then uses these arguments to update a dictionary tables. I initially wrote the function using a variable to store the list, as follows:

python

def assign_table(table_number, name, vip_status):
  customer_info = [name, vip_status]
  tables.update({table_number: customer_info})

However, I encountered an error message stating, “Did you create a way to add to tables with the values of table_number, name, and vip_status? Double check your ordering. It should match the structure provided.”

After some trial and error, I found that removing the variable and directly placing the list in the dictionary update statement resolved the issue:

python

def assign_table(table_number, name, vip_status):
  tables.update({table_number: [name, vip_status]})

While this workaround resolved the error, I believe it highlights an inconsistency in the testing environment’s handling of function arguments and variables. My initial approach, using a variable to store the list, should be perfectly valid Python code. It is a common practice that can make code more readable.

Recommendation:

I recommend that the testing environment be updated to properly handle such scenarios, ensuring it does not reject valid Python code due to quirks in its testing procedures. By doing so, we can promote good coding practices and improve the learning experience for users.

1 Like