The core value of functions lies in encapsulating repetitive computational logic into independent modules, achieving generalized processing through parameter passing and return value mechanisms. For ...

Python, for all its power and popularity, has long lacked a form of flow control found in other languages—a way to take a value and match it elegantly against one of a number of possible conditions.

As Python’s popularity rises, its limitations are becoming more clear. For one thing, it can be very hard to write a Python application and distribute it to people who don’t have Python installed. The ...