Module 6: Introduction to Functions

Module 1 Objectives:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand how to define a function in a programming language.
  

• Learn how to call a function to execute its code.
  

• Understand the concept of return values from functions versus functions that only print output without returning values.
  

• Differentiate between local and global variables.
  

• Write and utilize docstrings to document functions.
  

• Differentiate between arguments and parameters in functions.
  

• Recognize how the number of arguments affects function calls and definitions.
  

• Implement default parameter values in function definitions.
  

In the previous sections, we’ve talked about several built-in functions like print() and input(), as well as functions from installed packages like numpy’s array() and pandas’ read_csv().

Now we’ll talk about how you can write your own functions.