function call - default value & collecting arguments

[Terry Reedy]

"Primoz Skale" <primoz.skale.lists at gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:_LQIj.9776$HS3.482805 at news.siol.net...
| def f(*a=(0,)):
|  print a[0]  #this should come next, but we get error msg instead, saying
|
|          SyntaxError: invalid syntax
|
| but it does not work this way. Now my 'newbie' question: Why not? :)

Possibly because no one ever thought of that.

More likely because it is contradictory: by definition, *a *always* gets a 
value, so there is never a need for a 'default'.  When a param gets a value 
you don't like, you have to explicitly replace it or whatever.

So add at the top 'a = a or (0,)'

tjr