Formatting Parameter Blocks in Python
There are two ways recommended in pep-8 to format the blocks with long parameter lists in Python:
# Arguments start on the next line
foo = long_function_name(
var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
Another way is:
# Arguments start on the same line
foo = long_function_name(var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
I always prefer the first option and the other one is problematic for a few reasons.
For example, if you have two blocks with such indentation, the indent will be jumping:
# Two functions formatted in such way don't look good, indent is jumping
foo = long_function_name(var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
bar = another_func(var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
Another reason is that the indentation will be broken if you, for example, rename the function or make it a class method:
foo = long_function_name(var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
# After renaming the function (or the `foo` variable), we need to fix the indentation on following lines
foo = renamed_long_function_name(var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
foo = self.long_function_name(var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
Now, besides the rename / refactoring we need to also fix the indentation in following lines.
While the first way of formatting works good in these cases:
# Two functions near each other, indentation is not jumping
foo = long_function_name(
var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
bar = another_func(
var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
# Rename / move to class, arguments formatting doesn't need to be changed
foo = long_function_name(
var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
foo = renamed_long_function_name(
var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
foo = self.long_function_name(
var_one, var_two,
var_three, var_four)
Along with more convenience during the development, this also results in better diffs, so it will make the code review process easier for a reviewer.
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