Unpacking Argument Lists of Defining Functions

The reverse situation occurs when the arguments are already in a list or tuple but need to be unpacked for a function call requiring separate positional arguments. For instance, the built-in range() function expects separate start and stop arguments. If they are not available separately, write the function call with the * operator to unpack the arguments out of a list or tuple:

>>> list(range(3,6))
[3, 4, 5]
>>> args=[3, 6]
>>> list(range(*args))
[3, 4, 5]

In the same fashion, dictionaries can deliver keywood arguments with the ** operator:

>>> def parrot(voltage, state='a stiff', action='voom'):
... print("-- This parrot wouldn't", action, end=' ')
... print("if you put", voltage, "volts through it.", end=' ')
... print("E's", state, "!")
...
>>> d = {"voltage": "four million", "state": "bleedin' demised", "action": "VOOM"}
>>> parrot(**d)
-- This parrot wouldn't VOOM if you put four million volts through it. E's bleedin' demised !