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Pass by Value and Pass by Reference in Python

May 23, 2022

Srini

Passing a value and passing a reference explained below. Below is the simple example which shows how to use these in python.

Python Pass by Value Vs. Pass by Reference Simple Example

What is Pass by value

What is pass by value? Passing a value as an argument to the function. The pass-by-value concept explained in three steps.

Create a function
pass value as an argument to the function
to verify the result

A literal (20) as an argument supplied here. So it is called pass-by-value.

def my_pass_by_value(b):
    b += 2
    print(b)
c=my_pass_by_value(20)
print(c)
The result:
22
None
** Process exited - Return Code: 0 **
Press Enter to exit terminal

Also read: Impress your audience with Microsoft PowerPoint

What is Pass by reference

Supplying a reference instead of value is called pass-by-refefence. The working principle you can see in the below example.

Create a function
pass reference as an argument to the function
to verify the result

The below example tells how pass-by-reference works. Value not supplied, instead of the value provided a variable (reference).

def my_pass_by_reference(r):
    r += 10
    print(r)
ref1=100
h=my_pass_by_reference(ref1)
print(h)
The result
110
None
** Process exited - Return Code: 0 **
Press Enter to exit terminal