How to use "variadic argument" in python programming

 In Python, you can use *args and **kwargs to handle an arbitrary number of arguments in a function.

*args

• Purpose:

  • Used to pass an arbitrary number of positional arguments to a function.
  • *args receives these arguments as a tuple.

• Example:

Python

def sum_all(*args):
  """
  This function calculates the sum of all the arguments passed to it.
  """
  total = 0
  for num in args:
    total += num
  return total

result = sum_all(1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
print(result)  # Output: 15

**kwargs

• Purpose:

  • Used to pass an arbitrary number of keyword arguments to a function.
  • **kwargs receives these arguments as a dictionary.

• Example:

Python

def print_info(**kwargs):
  """
  This function prints the key-value pairs passed as arguments.
  """
  for key, value in kwargs.items():
    print(f"{key}: {value}")

print_info(name="Alice", age=30, city="New York")

Key Points:

• You can use *args and **kwargs together in a function definition.
• *args should generally come before **kwargs in the function definition.
• You can use any variable name instead of *args and **kwargs, but these are common conventions.

Benefits of using *args and **kwargs:

• Flexibility: Allows you to create functions that can handle a variable number of arguments.
• Reusability: Makes your functions more adaptable and reusable in different situations.
• Improved code readability: Can make your code more concise and easier to understand.

I hope this explanation is helpful!