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Unpacking Function Arguments in Python

Unpack the list

We can use * to unpack the list.

python
# A function takes 4 arguments
def fun(a, b, c, d):
    print(a, b, c, d)

# A list with four elements
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4]

# Unpacking list into four arguments
fun(*my_list)
# A function takes 4 arguments
def fun(a, b, c, d):
    print(a, b, c, d)

# A list with four elements
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4]

# Unpacking list into four arguments
fun(*my_list)

Unpack the dictionary

We can use ** to unpack the dictionary.

python
# A function takes 3 arguments
def fun(a, b, c):
    print(a, b, c)

# A dictionary with the keys equal with the parameter names.
d = {'a':2, 'b':4, 'c':10}

# Unpacking dictionary into three arguments
fun(**d)
# A function takes 3 arguments
def fun(a, b, c):
    print(a, b, c)

# A dictionary with the keys equal with the parameter names.
d = {'a':2, 'b':4, 'c':10}

# Unpacking dictionary into three arguments
fun(**d)