The Star (*args), Lists, and Pythonic Loops

How does one `*args` parameter let a function accept any number of arguments the way `max` and `min` do — and why is looping over elements directly more Pythonic than `range(len(l))`?

Finger exercises

Short drills on what this video just taught. Write the code, run the checks, and reveal the answer only if you are stuck.

0 / 5 passed

Exercise 1 of 5

Multiply any number of arguments

Define a function product that accepts a variable number of arguments and returns the product of all of them. Put a star before the parameter name so Python packs the arguments into a tuple you can loop over.

It must work no matter how many numbers are passed — product(2, 3, 4), product(5), and so on.

# Multiply together any number of arguments.
# The star packs all the arguments into a tuple you can loop over.
def product(*nums):
    ...  # your code here — return the product of every value in nums

# Multiply together any number of arguments.
# The star packs all the arguments into a tuple you can loop over.
def product(*nums):
    ...  # your code here — return the product of every value in nums

Python runs in your browser

⌘/Ctrl + Enter runs

is a function you can call

multiplies however many arguments it is given

works with a single argument

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