Keyword Arguments in Python: When Do We Use Them, and How Do They Differ from Positional Arguments?

Keyword Arguments in Python: Understanding Positional Arguments

The concept of positional and keyword arguments in Python functions can be confusing, especially when considering default parameter values.

The quoted text erroneously defines positional arguments as those without equal signs and default values. However, in Python, positional arguments are simply passed in order, regardless of their positionality.

Keyword arguments, on the other hand, are named arguments where the argument name is specified in the function call using an equal sign. They allow flexibility in passing arguments out of order.

For example, in the function rectangleArea(width, height), both width and height are positional arguments. However, we can also call this function using keyword syntax:

print(rectangleArea(width=1, height=2))

This works because Python's function calls support both positional and keyword arguments. The default values for the positional arguments can be specified in the function definition:

def rectangleArea(width=1, height=1):
    return width * height

In the example above, width and height are both assigned default values of 1. If no arguments are provided when calling the function, these default values will be used.

In summary, positional arguments are passed in order, while keyword arguments are named and can be passed in any order. Default parameter values can be specified for either type of argument, allowing for greater flexibility in function calls.

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