Variable-length keyword arguments (**kwargs) in Python - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does **kwargs mean in a Python function?

**kwargs allows a function to accept any number of keyword arguments as a dictionary.

This means you can pass named arguments that the function did not explicitly list.

beginner

How do you access the values passed through **kwargs inside a function?

Inside the function, kwargs is a dictionary. You can access values by their keys like kwargs['key_name'].

intermediate

Can you combine *args and **kwargs in the same function? If yes, in what order?

Yes, you can combine them. The order must be: regular parameters, then *args, then **kwargs.

beginner

What type of object is kwargs inside the function?

kwargs is a dictionary that holds all the keyword arguments passed to the function.

beginner

Why use **kwargs instead of listing all possible keyword arguments?

**kwargs makes your function flexible. It can accept extra named arguments without changing the function definition.

This is useful when you don't know all possible arguments in advance.

What does **kwargs collect in a function?

A A list of positional arguments

B A dictionary of keyword arguments

C A tuple of positional arguments

D A string of all arguments

**kwargs collects keyword arguments as a dictionary.

How do you define a function that accepts any number of keyword arguments?

A def func(kwargs):

B def func(*args):

C def func(**kwargs):

D def func(*kwargs):

Use **kwargs to accept any number of keyword arguments.

Inside a function, how do you get the value of a keyword argument named 'color' passed via **kwargs?

A kwargs['color']

B kwargs.color

C args['color']

D args.color

kwargs is a dictionary, so use kwargs['color'] to access the value.

What happens if you call a function with **kwargs but pass no keyword arguments?

A <code>kwargs</code> is an empty dictionary

B An error occurs

C <code>kwargs</code> is None

D The function ignores <code>kwargs</code>

If no keyword arguments are passed, kwargs is an empty dictionary.

Which of these is the correct order of parameters in a function definition?

A def func(**kwargs, a, *args):

B def func(**kwargs, *args):

C def func(*args, a, **kwargs):

D def func(a, *args, **kwargs):

The correct order is regular parameters, then *args, then **kwargs.

Explain what **kwargs does in a Python function and how you can use it.

Think about how you can pass extra named options to a function.

Describe the difference between *args and **kwargs in function parameters.

One collects unnamed arguments, the other collects named arguments.