Question:

How can I pass a keyword argument to a function when the name contains a dot?

Problem:

Given a function that accepts "**kwargs", e.g.,

def f(**kwargs):

print(kwargs)

How can I pass a key-value pair if the key contains a dot/period (.)?

The straightforward way results in a syntax error:

In [46]: f(a.b=1)

Cell In[46], line 1

f(a.b=1)

SyntaxError: expression cannot contain assignment, perhaps you meant "=="?

Solution:

Python functions only accepts >valid python names (letters, underscore, and digits except for the first character), a dot is not allowed.

If you want to have a string a.b as parameter, then you must use a dictionary

f(**{'a.b': 1})

# {'a.b': 1}

You can combine this with other parameters:

f(x=2, **{'a.b': 1})

# {'x': 2, 'a.b': 1}

Ritu Singh

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