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Learn to program with Python

Returning Values from Functions #

Another important feature of creating functions is the ability to return values or return the result of the function. The value returned can be assigned to a variable or used for other purposes. We can return a value using the return keyword followed by the value we want to return, as shown in the example below:

This function takes a year in AD as an argument and returns the corresponding year in the Buddhist era (BE) when called.

def year_ac_to_be(year):
    return year + 543

year_in_ac = 2000
year_in_be = year_ac_to_be(year_in_ac)

print(year_in_be) # Output: 2543

The keyword return is not necessary for a function. When a function does not return anything, the value None is returned. For example:

def do_something():
    print("Do this")

result = do_something()
print(result) # Output: None

When a function returns a value, it immediately stops executing the remaining parts of the function. For example, in the code below, the function will return True when called and the print function that follows will not be executed. Try copying the code to an editor and running the code to see the result.

def print_hello_world():
    return True
    print("Hello World")

result = print_hello_world()
print(result)

Output:
True

Exercise #

Create a function that accepts arguments and returns a values.

Tests #

  • Create a function add_numbers
  • Function add_numbers should accept 2 arguments
  • add_numbers(5, 5) should return 10
  • add_numbers(10, 10) should return 20
Output will be displayed here