Using **kwargs in a Python function

Question

Consider a method like the one below:

    def find_missing(self, **kwargs):
        if save == True:
            tmp = find_one_missing(self.data)
            tmp.to_csv(path)
        else:
            return find_one_missing(self.data)

What I am trying to achieve is the variables save and path to be kwargs, whereby the use can specify either

x.find_missing()

which will return the output of the find_one_missing() function, or alternatively the user can insert

x.find_missing(save=True, path=user_string_pathway)

and the output will be automatically saved to a location. How can I do this?

You need to use kwargs["save"] to access it (after checking to see if it's present). Similarly for path. — Tom Karzes
– Tom Karzes, Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 14:00
Another alternative is to remove the keyword argument, and instead provide default values, e.g. def find_missing(self, save=None, path=None): Then you could access the arguments normally. — Tom Karzes
– Tom Karzes, Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 14:03
Why are you using **kwargs at all? That's something you use if you want your function to accept arbitrary keyword arguments. It looks like you're looking for default values and/or keyword-only argument syntax. — user2357112
– user2357112, Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 14:03
Also, interface suggestion: consider using a single save_to argument, or just removing the save argument and keeping path. You don't need two separate arguments, and using one argument avoids problems with people passing inconsistent arguments. — user2357112
– user2357112, Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 14:05

Alexandre Strapacao G. Vianna · Accepted Answer · 2020-10-15 14:14:52Z

2

Call:

find_missing(save=True, path="/path/...")

Access the value using kwargs['save'] and kwargs['path']

def find_missing(self, **kwargs):
        if kwargs['save'] == True:
            tmp = find_one_missing(self.data)
            tmp.to_csv(kwargs['path'])
        else:
            return find_one_missing(self.data)

answered Oct 15, 2020 at 14:14

Alexandre Strapacao G. Vianna

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