Expand and pass list, tuple, dict to function arguments in Python
In Python, you can expand list, tuple, dict (dictionary) and pass each element to function as arguments by adding * to list or tuple and ** to dictionary when calling function.
This article describes the following contents.
- Expand list and tuple with
*- With default arguments
- With variable-length arguments
- Expand the dictionary (
dict) with**- With default arguments
- With variable-length arguments
See the following articles for basic usage of Python functions, default arguments, and variable-length arguments with * and ** when defining functions.
- Related: Define and call functions in Python (def, return)
- Related: Default arguments in Python
- Related: Variable-length arguments (args, *kwargs) in Python
Expand list and tuple with *
When specifying a list or tuple with * as an argument, it is expanded and each element is passed to each argument.
def func(arg1, arg2, arg3):
print(arg1)
print(arg2)
print(arg3)
l = ['one', 'two', 'three']
func(*l)
# one
# two
# three
func(*['one', 'two', 'three'])
# one
# two
# three
t = ('one', 'two', 'three')
func(*t)
# one
# two
# three
func(*('one', 'two', 'three'))
# one
# two
# three
In the following sample code, lists are used, but the same applies to tuples.
If the number of elements does not match the number of arguments, TypeError will occur.
# func(*['one', 'two'])
# TypeError: func() missing 1 required positional argument: 'arg3'
# func(*['one', 'two', 'three', 'four'])
# TypeError: func() takes 3 positional arguments but 4 were given
With default arguments
If the function has default arguments, the default arguments will be used if the number of elements is insufficient. If there are many elements, TypeError will occur.
def func_default(arg1=1, arg2=2, arg3=3):
print(arg1)
print(arg2)
print(arg3)
func_default(*['one', 'two'])
# one
# two
# 3
func_default(*['one'])
# one
# 2
# 3
# func_default(*['one', 'two', 'three', 'four'])
# TypeError: func_default() takes from 0 to 3 positional arguments but 4 were given
With variable-length arguments
If the function has a variable-length argument (*args), all elements after the positional argument are passed to the variable-length argument.
def func_args(arg1, *args):
print(arg1)
for arg in args:
print(arg)
func_args(*['one', 'two'])
# one
# two
func_args(*['one', 'two', 'three'])
# one
# two
# three
func_args(*['one', 'two', 'three', 'four'])
# one
# two
# three
# four
Expand the dictionary (dict) with **
When specifying a dictionary (dict) with ** as an argument, key will be expanded as an argument name and value as the value of the argument. Each element will be passed as keyword arguments.
def func(arg1, arg2, arg3):
print(arg1)
print(arg2)
print(arg3)
d = {'arg1': 'one', 'arg2': 'two', 'arg3': 'three'}
func(**d)
# one
# two
# three
func(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg2': 'two', 'arg3': 'three'})
# one
# two
# three
If there is no key that matches the argument name, or if there is a key that does not match the argument name, TypeError will occur.
# func(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg2': 'two'})
# TypeError: func() missing 1 required positional argument: 'arg3'
# func(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg2': 'two', 'arg3': 'three', 'arg4': 'four'})
# TypeError: func() got an unexpected keyword argument 'arg4'
With default arguments
If the function has default arguments, only the value of the argument name matching the dictionary key is updated.
If there is a key that does not match the argument name, TypeError will occur.
def func_default(arg1=1, arg2=2, arg3=3):
print(arg1)
print(arg2)
print(arg3)
func_default(**{'arg1': 'one'})
# one
# 2
# 3
func_default(**{'arg2': 'two', 'arg3': 'three'})
# 1
# two
# three
# func_default(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg4': 'four'})
# TypeError: func_default() got an unexpected keyword argument 'arg4'
With variable-length arguments
If the function has a variable-length argument (**kwargs), all elements with keys that do not match the argument name are passed to the variable-length argument.
def func_kwargs(arg1, **kwargs):
print('arg1', arg1)
for k, v in kwargs.items():
print(k, v)
func_kwargs(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg2': 'two', 'arg3': 'three'})
# arg1 one
# arg2 two
# arg3 three
func_kwargs(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg2': 'two', 'arg3': 'three', 'arg4': 'four'})
# arg1 one
# arg2 two
# arg3 three
# arg4 four
func_kwargs(**{'arg1': 'one', 'arg3': 'three'})
# arg1 one
# arg3 three