Writing Functions

Question 1

Print function

Answer 1

print()

Question 2

Convert to string

Answer 2

str()

Question 3

Creating a function

Answer 3

def func_name(par1, par2, default=val):
"""doc strings"""
function body

Question 4

Check the type of an object

Answer 4

type()

Question 5

Parts of a function

Answer 5

1. header
2. parameter
3. docstrings
4. body

Question 6

function(x) - what is x called when calling a function? when creating a function?

Answer 6

calling = argument
creating = parameter

Question 7

function that gives back a value

Answer 7

use “return”

Question 8

what is a tuple?

Answer 8

immutable object type: (a, b, c)

Question 9

creating a larger scope in a function

Answer 9

line before the variable: say “global var” where var is the variable

Question 10

how to explore the python module that comes with python

Answer 10

import builtins

dir(builtins)

Question 11

benefits of an inner function and name of this

Answer 11

nested function: 1. avoid writing repetitions within a function
2. closure - nested functions remember state of enclosing scope

Question 12

explain a nested function

Answer 12

outer function asks for an input which is used in the inner function and as a result returns a specific variant of the inner function

Question 13

alter variable in enclosing scope

Answer 13

“nonlocal var”

Question 14

function with variable-length arguments

Answer 14

use *args

Question 15

functions with variable-length keyword arguments

Answer 15

use **kwargs (a variable length dictionary)

Question 16

lambda function format

Answer 16

= (lambda vars: function)

Question 17

best use case for lambda functions

Answer 17

functions anonymously embedded in larger expressions

Question 18

functions to use lambda

Answer 18

map(), filter(), reduce()

Question 19

map function

Answer 19

map(function, list) - applies the function over the list

Question 20

filter function

Answer 20

filter(function, list) - filters out elements that don’t satisfy a criteria

Question 21

reduce function

Answer 21

from functools import reduce

reduce(function, list) - produces a single object from a list

Question 22

basic error handling framework

Answer 22

try:
except:

Question 23

another way to handle errors

Answer 23

raise
if xyz:
raise ValueError('message')