1st Guided Project: parameters in the explore_data() function

[ling.xu81]

def explore_data(dataset, start, end, rows_and_columns=False):
dataset_slice = dataset[start:end]
for row in dataset_slice:
print(row)
print(’\n’) # adds a new (empty) line after each row

if rows_and_columns:
    print('Number of rows:', len(dataset))
    print('Number of columns:', len(dataset[0]))

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I don’t quite understand the parameter - rows_and_columns = False. How does Python recognize this variable? Why should we set it as False as default?

[april.g]

Hi @ling.xu81, welcome to the community!

I think this post will help you:

Python Fundamentals: Guided Project

Hi @Horigome. In Python you can define a function that takes any arguments. You can also set a default value for the argument. Python doesn’t know what the words mean – it only knows to expect something to be there as an input. In the body of the code, we tell Python what to do with those inputs. If we put in something it didn’t expect, or if it can’t be used in the way we wrote in the body of the function, then Python will give an error. Let’s have a look at the explore_data() function in…

[ling.xu81]

Hi @april.g. This explained it very well. Thanks for the help!