Having talked about assignment, conditions and loops, we’re finally ready to tackle what computer science is really about: abstracting problems away in parametrized units of code.
In 1952, David Wheeler defined the closed subroutine: a self-contained part of a programme, which is capable of being used in different programmes. As obvious as it sounds to us, back then it was completely revolutionary—insomuch that the instruction that made this possible was dubbed the “Wheeler Jump”. We’ve come a long way since then: in Python, functions are infinitely more versatile and complex; and yet there’s a lot to say about notions as basic as arguments and invocations.

#software-design #python #function