Basic functions

A function is a reusable piece of code that is only run when it is called. Functions can have inputs, and they usually return an output. For example, using a Python shell, you can define the following function that takes two inputs, base and height, and returns their product as the area:

def area(base, height):
    return base*height
area(2, 3)

The output is as follows:

6

Exercise 43 – defining and calling a function in the shell

In this exercise, you create a function that will return the second element of a list if it exists. Proceed as follows:

1. In a Python shell, enter the function definition. Note that the tab spacing needs to match the following output:

   def get_second_element(mylist):

       if len(mylist) > 1:

           return mylist[1]

       else:

           return 'List was too small'

2. Try...