Seeing Stars

As you read this, Python 3.5 should be hitting the streets with a wide assortment of new features and even some new syntax. "New syntax?" you ask. Why yes. Even though Python has been around for more than 25 years now, it continues to evolve and sprout surprising new features from time to time. In this month’s installment, I’m going to look at a seemingly minor part of Python that turns out to be fairly useful—the use of * and ** in function arguments, function argument passing, and data handling.