Functions in Programming

Session- 5

©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

 Agenda
1. What is function In Python
2. Creating a function
3. Calling a function
4. Best Practices for Function
5. Arguemnts in a function
6. Default argument and keyword arguments
7. Global Variable
8. LocalVariable
9. Non Local Variables
10. args and *kwargs in a Function
11. Lambda Functions

2 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

What is a Python – Functions?
What is a Python – Functions?

• A function is a block of organized, reusable code that is used to perform a single, related action. Functions
provides better modularity for your application and a high degree of code reusing.
• As you already know, Python gives you many built-in functions like print() etc. but you can also create your
own functions. These functions are called user-defined functions.

4 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

Defining a Function

Here are simple rules to define a function in Python:

• Function blocks begin with the keyword def followed by the function name and parentheses ( ( ) ).
• Any input parameters or arguments should be placed within these parentheses. You can also define
parameters inside these parentheses.
• The first statement of a function can be an optional statement - the documentation string of the function or
docstring.
• The code block within every function starts with a colon (:) and is indented.
• The statement return [expression] exits a function, optionally passing back an expression to the caller. A return
statement with no arguments is the same as return None.
• Syntax:
• def functionname( parameters ):
• "function_docstring" function_suite return [expression]

5 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

Syntax of a Function

• Syntax:
def functionname( parameters ):
"function_docstring"
function_suite
return [expression]
By default, parameters have a positional behavior, and you need to inform them in the same order that they were
defined.
• Example:
def printme( str ):
"This prints a passed string function"
print str
return

6 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

Calling a Function

• Following is the example to call printme() function:

def printme( str ): "This is a print function“
print str;
return;

printme("I'm first call to user defined function!");

printme("Again second call to the same function");

• This would produce following result:

I'm first call to user defined function!
Again second call to the same function

7 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

Pass by Reference vs Value

• All parameters (arguments) in the Python language are passed by reference. It means if you
change what a parameter refers to within a function, the change also reflects back in the calling
function. For example:
def changeme( mylist ): "This changes a passed list“
mylist.append([1,2,3,4]);
print "Values inside the function: ", mylist
return
mylist = [10,20,30];
changeme( mylist );
print "Values outside the function: ", mylist

• So this would produce following result:

Values inside the function: [10, 20, 30, [1, 2, 3, 4]]
Values outside the function: [10, 20, 30, [1, 2, 3, 4]]

8 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

Pass by Reference vs Value
Example

• There is one more example where argument is being passed by reference but inside the function, but the reference
is being over-written.
def changeme( mylist ): "This changes a passed list"
mylist = [1,2,3,4];
print "Values inside the function: ", mylist
return
mylist = [10,20,30];
changeme( mylist );
print "Values outside the function: ", mylist

• The parameter mylist is local to the function changeme. Changing mylist within the function does not affect mylist.
The function accomplishes nothing and finally this would produce following result:
Values inside the function: [1, 2, 3, 4]
Values outside the function: [10, 20, 30]

9 ©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.

Pass by Reference vs Value
Function Arguments:
A function by using the following types of formal arguments::
• Required arguments
• Keyword arguments
• Default arguments
• Variable-length arguments
Required arguments:
• Required arguments are the arguments passed to a function in correct positional order.
def printme( str ): "This prints a passed string"
print str;
return;
printme();
• This would produce following result:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "test.py", line 11, in <module> printme();
TypeError: printme() takes exactly 1 argument (0 given)
1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
0
Pass by Reference vs Value

Keyword arguments:
• Keyword arguments are related to the function calls. When you use keyword arguments in a function call, the caller
identifies the arguments by the parameter name.
• This allows you to skip arguments or place them out of order because the Python interpreter is able to use the
keywords provided to match the values with parameters.
def printme( str ): "This prints a passed string"
print str;
return;
printme( str = "My string");
• This would produce following result:
My string

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
1
Pass by Reference vs Value

• Following example gives more clear picture. Note, here order of the parameter does not matter:
def printinfo( name, age ): "Test function"
print "Name: ", name;
print "Age ", age;
return;
printinfo( age=50, name="miki" );
• This would produce following result:
Name: miki Age 50

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
2
Default Arguments

Default arguments:
• A default argument is an argument that assumes a default value if a value is not provided in the function call for
that argument.
• Following example gives idea on default arguments, it would print default age if it is not passed:
def printinfo( name, age = 35 ): “Test function"
print "Name: ", name;
print "Age ", age;
return;
printinfo( age=50, name="miki" );
printinfo( name="miki" );
• This would produce following result:
Name: miki Age 50 Name: miki Age 35

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
3
Variable Length Arguments

Variable-length arguments:

• You may need to process a function for more arguments than you specified while defining the function. These
arguments are called variable-length arguments and are not named in the function definition, unlike required
and default arguments.

• The general syntax for a function with non-keyword variable arguments is this:
def functionname([formal_args,] *var_args_tuple ):
"function_docstring"
function_suite
return [expression]

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
4
Variable Length Arguments
• An asterisk (*) is placed before the variable name that will hold the values of all nonkeyword variable arguments. This tuple
remains empty if no additional arguments are specified during the function call. For example:
def printinfo( arg1, *vartuple ):
"This is test"
print "Output is: "
print arg1
for var in vartuple:
print var
return;
printinfo( 10 );
printinfo( 70, 60, 50 );

• This would produce following result:

Output is:
10
Output is:
70
60
50
1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
5
The Anonymous Functions

The Anonymous Functions:

You can use the lambda keyword to create small anonymous functions. These functions are called anonymous because they are not
declared in the standard manner by using the def keyword.
• Lambda forms can take any number of arguments but return just one value in the form of an expression. They cannot contain
commands or multiple expressions.
• An anonymous function cannot be a direct call to print because lambda requires an expression.
• Lambda functions have their own local namespace and cannot access variables other than those in their parameter list and those
in the global namespace.
• Although it appears that lambda's are a one-line version of a function, they are not equivalent to inline statements in C or C++,
whose purpose is by passing function stack allocation during invocation for performance reasons.

• Syntax:
lambda [arg1 [,arg2,.....argn]]:expression

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
6
The Anonymous Functions

Example:

• Following is the example to show how lambda form of function works:

sum = lambda arg1, arg2: arg1 + arg2;
print "Value of total : ", sum( 10, 20 )
print "Value of total : ", sum( 20, 20 )

• This would produce following result:

Value of total : 30
Value of total : 40

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
7
Source of Variables

All variables in a program may not be accessible at all locations in that program. This depends on where you have declared a variable.
The scope of a variable determines the portion of the program where you can access a particular identifier. There are two basic scopes
of variables in Python:
• Global variables
• Local variables

Global vs. Local variables:

• Variables that are defined inside a function body have a local scope, and those defined outside have a global scope.
• This means that local variables can be accessed only inside the function in which they are declared whereas global variables can
be accessed throughout the program body by all functions. When you call a function, the variables declared inside it are brought
into scope.

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
8
Source of Variables
Example:

total = 0; # This is global variable.

def sum( arg1, arg2 ):
"Add both the parameters"
total = arg1 + arg2;
print "Inside the function local total : ", total
return total;
# Now you can call sum function
sum( 10, 20 );
print "Outside the function global total : ", total

• This would produce following result:

Inside the function local total : 30
Outside the function global total : 0

1
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
9
Practical
What we have learned

• What is function In Python

• Creating a function
• Calling a function
• Best Practices for Function
• Arguments in a function
• Default argument and keyword arguments
• Global Variable
• Local Variable
• Non Local Variables
• args and *kwargs in a Function
• Lambda Functions

2
©Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. All rights reserved.
1