Two practical tips for beginners to learn Python

This article has documented two practical tips that are commonly used for beginners to learn Python. The details are as follows:

1. Variable parameters

The sample code is as follows:

>>> def powersum(power, *args): 
...   '''''Return the sum of each argument raised to specified power.''' 
...   total = 0 
...   for i in args: 
...     total += pow(i, power) 
...   return total 
...
>>> powersum(2, 3, 4) 
25
>>> powersum(2, 10) 
100

Since the * prefix precedes the args variable, all redundant function arguments are stored as a tuple in args. If the ** prefix is used, the extra arguments are considered key/value pairs for a dictionary.

2. The exec statement executes the string STR as valid Python code. The execfile(filename [,globals [,locals]]) function can be used to execute a file.

The sample code is as follows:

>>> exec 'print "Hello World"' 
Hello World>>> execfile(r'c:test.py') 
hello,world!

I hope this article has helped you with your Python programming.