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Python Python Collections (2016, retired 2019) Tuples Tuple Swapping

list functions doesn't need unpacking?

in the vid the sample code for def add(nums) needed the "" when it's for packing tuple:

def add(*nums): ... total = 0 ... for num in nums: ... total += num ... return total ... add(5,5) 10

however when i used list entries i found out that you don't need to use * in the add():

def add(nums): ... total = 0 ... for num in nums: ... total += num ... return total ... add([5,20]) 25

why is that?

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,236 Points

You only need the "splat" operator when the function will be passed several individual arguments and you want to treat them as a list in the function body.

If the function is passed an actual list as a single argument, you don't need it.