Python: Essential Reference, Third Edition

Parameter Passing and Return Values

When a function is invoked, its parameters are passed by reference. If a mutable object (such as a list or dictionary) is passed to a function where it’s then modified, those changes will be reflected in the caller. For example:

a = [1,2,3,4,5]
def foo(x):
    x[3] = -55    # Modify an element of x

foo(a)            # Pass a
print a           # Produces [1,2,3,-55,5]

The return statement returns a value from a function. If no value is specified or you omit the return statement, the None object is returned. To return multiple values, place them in a tuple:

def factor(a):
    d = 2
    while (d <= (a/2)):
        if ((a/d)*d == a):
              return ((a/d),d)
        d = d + 1
    return (a,1)

Multiple return values returned in a tuple can be assigned to individual variables: ...